The 1981 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on 29 December 1981.
This was Rummenigge's second win in succession.
Rankings RankNameClub(s)NationalityPoints1Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern Munich1062Paul Breitner Bayern Munich643Bernd Schuster Barcelona394Michel Platini Saint-Étienne365Oleg Blokhin Dinamo Kyiv146Dino Zoff Juventus137Ramaz Shengelia Dinamo Tbilisi108Alexsandr Chivadze Dinamo Tbilisi99Liam Brady Juventus7John Wark Ipswich Town11David Kipiani Dinamo Tbilisi6András Törőcsik ÚjpestZbigniew Boniek Widzew ŁódźMaxime Bossis NantesBruno Pezzey Eintracht Frankfurt16Horst Hrubesch Hamburger SV5Ruud Krol NapoliVladimir Petrović Red Star Belgrade19Zlatko Vujovic Hajduk Split4Trevor Brooking West Ham United21Giancarlo Antognoni Fiorentina3Jan Ceulemans Club BruggeKenny Dalglish LiverpoolBryan Robson Manchester UnitedFrank Stapleton Manchester UnitedWilfried Van Moer BeverenLuis Arconada Real Sociedad28Grzegorz Lato Lokeren2Tibor Nyilasi FerencvárosWlodzimierz Smolarek Widzew ŁódźFrans Thijssen Ipswich Town32António Oliveira Sporting CP1Uli Stielike Real MadridJesús Zamora Real Sociedad
References
External links France Football Official Ballon d'Or page