In 1970 the Ballon d'Or was won by Gerd Müller. The prolific striker crowned himself European topscorer in 1970, scoring 38 goals in the German Bundesliga. Der Bomber also helped West-Germany reach third place in the World Cup held in Mexico that year, scoring 10 goals in 6 matches.
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| World Cup 1970: Gerd Muller scores the winning goal against England |
Müller being voted European Footballer of the Year was the outcome of a ballot held among a panel of football journalists organised by the magazine France Football, with one vote coming from each of the following 26 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, East Germany, England, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Soviet Union, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, West Germany and Yugoslavia.
The result was announced in the edition dated December 29th, 1970. Bobby Moore was mistakenly reported as having received 69 points
| Name | Country | Club | Pts. |
|
1. |
Gerd Müller | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 77 |
2. |
Bobby Moore | England | West Ham United | 70 |
3. |
Luigi Riva | Italy | Cagliari | 65 |
4. |
Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 32 |
5. |
Wolfgang Overath | West Germany | 1. FC Köln | 29 |
6. |
Dragan Dzajic | Yugoslavia | Red Star Belgrade | 24 |
7. |
Johan Cruyff | Holland | Ajax | 13 |
8. |
Gordon Banks | England | Stoke City | 8 |
| Alessandro Mazzola | Italy | Inter Milan | 8 | |
10. |
Uwe Seeler | West Germany | Hamburger SV | 7 |
| Albert Shesternev | Soviet Union | Torpedo Moscow | 7 | |
| Gianni Rivera | Italy | AC Milan | 7 | |
| Rinus Israel | Holland | Feyenoord | 7 | |
14. |
Angelo Domenghini | Italy | Cagliari | 4 |
| Ove Kindvall | Sweden | Feyenoord | 4 | |
| Francis Lee | England | Manchester City | 4 | |
| Willem van Hanegem | Holland | Feyenoord | 4 | |
18. |
Terry Cooper | England | Leeds United | 3 |
| Geoff Hurst | England | West Ham United | 3 | |
| Alan Ball | England | Everton | 3 | |
| Giacinto Facchetti | Italy | Inter Milan | 3 | |
22. |
Eusebio | Portugal | Benfica | 2 |
| Josip Skoblar | Yugoslavia | Olympique Marseille | 2 | |
24. |
Cornel Dinu | Romania | Dinamo Bucharest | 1 |
| Jean Djorkaeff | France | Paris Saint-Germain | 1 | |
| Florea Dumitrache | Romania | Dinamo Bucharest | 1 | |
| Franz Hasil | Austria | Feyenoord | 1 | |
| Johan Kreische | East Germany | Dynamo Dresden | 1 | |
| Carlos Rexach | Spain | FC Barcelona | 1 | |
1969 • European Footballer of the Year • 1971