In 1976 the Ballon d'Or was won by Franz Beckenabuer. The West German defender led his club Bayern Munich to their third consequtive victory in the European Cup, in addition to winning the Intercontinental Cup. Beckenbauer also reached reached the final of the European Championship with his national team.
| Embed from Getty Images |
| Beckenbauer shoots at goal during the 1976 European Cupfinal |
Beckenbauer 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 28th, 1976.
| Name | Country | Club | Pts. | |
| 1. | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 91 |
| 2. | Rob Rensenbrink | Holland | Anderlecht | 75 |
| 3. | Ivo Viktor | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Prague | 52 |
| 4. | Kevin Keegan | England | Liverpool | 32 |
| 5. | Michel Platini | France | AS Nancy | 19 |
| 6. | Anton Ondrus | Czechoslovakia | Slovan Bratislava | 16 |
| 7. | Johan Cruyff | Holland | FC Barcelona | 12 |
| Ivan Curkovic | Yugoslavia | AS Saint-Etienne | 12 | |
| 9. | Rainer Bonhof | West Germany | Borussia M'gladbach | 9 |
| Gerd Müller | West Germany | Bayern Munich | 9 | |
| Marian Masny | Czechoslovakia | Slovan Bratislava | 9 | |
| 12. | Franco Causio | Italy | Juventus | 7 |
| 13. | Berti Vogts | West Germany | Borussia M'gladbach | 6 |
| 14. | Tibor Nyilasi | Hungary | Ferencváros | 5 |
| 15. | Jaroslav Pollak | Czechoslovakia | Kosice | 4 |
| Roberto Bettega | Italy | Juventus | 4 | |
| Jürgen Croy | East Germany | Sachsenring Zwickau | 4 | |
| Dudu Georgescu | Romania | Dinamo Bucharest | 4 | |
| 19. | Joachim Streich | East Germany | 1. FC Magdeburg | 3 |
| Oleg Blokhin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kiev | 3 | |
| 21. | Gérard Janvion | France | AS Saint-Etienne | 2 |
| Dieter Müller | West Germany | 1. FC Köln | 2 | |
| Carlos Alonso González | Spain | Real Madrid | 2 | |
| Benny Wendt | Sweden | Tennis Borussia Berlin | 2 | |
| Dominique Rocheteau | France | AS Saint-Etienne | 2 | |
| 26. | Dominique Bathenay | France | AS Saint-Etienne | 1 |
| Ali Cemal | Turkey | Trabzonspor | 1 | |
| Jupp Heynckes | West Germany | Borussia M'gladbach | 1 | |
| Dino Zoff | Italy | Juventus | 1 | |
1975 • European Footballer of the Year • 1977