The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956.
That partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d’Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men’s Player.
The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d’Or are considered as winners by both award organisations. The Ballon d’Or is generally regarded as football’s most prestigious and valuable individual award.
Stanley Matthews won the first-ever Ballon d’Or award in 1956, while Norway’s Ada Hegerberg was the first recipient of the Ballon d’Or Feminin in 2018.
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award seven times while Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award five times, with the duo sharing 12 of 13 awards since 2008.
European players have won the most Ballon d’Or awards, with 53 wins. South America has won 12 awards, split between Argentina and Brazil.
George Weah is the only African player to have won the award, and no player from North America or Asia has ever won.
Apart from George Weah, who won the award in 1995, Sadio Mané is the only other player from outside Europe and South America to finish in the top three of the Ballon d’Or voting.
Ballon d’Or winners by year
2022: Karim Benzema
2021: Lionel Messi
2020: Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019: Lionel Messi
2018: Luka Modric
2017: Cristiano Ronaldo
2016: Cristiano Ronaldo
2015: Lionel Messi
2014: Cristiano Ronaldo
2013: Cristiano Ronaldo
2012: Lionel Messi
2011: Lionel Messi
2010: Lionel Messi
2009: Lionel Messi
2008: Cristiano Ronaldo
2007: Kaka
2006: Fabio Cannavaro
2005: Ronaldinho
2004: Andriy Shevchenko
2003: Pavel Nedved
2002: Ronaldo Nizario
2001: Michael Owen
2000: Luis Figo
1999: Rivaldo
1998: Zinedine Zidane
1997: Ronaldo Nizario
1996: Matthias Sammer
1995: George Weah
1994: Hristo Stoichkov
1993: Roberto Baggio
1992: Marco van Basten
1991: Jean-Pierre Papin
1990: Lothar Matthaus
1989: Marco van Basten
1988: Marco van Basten
1987: Ruud Gullit
1986: Igor Belanov
1985: Michel Platini
1984: Michel Platini
1983: Michel Platini
1982: Paolo Rossi
1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1979: Kevin Keegan
1978: Kevin Keegan
1977: Allan Simonsen
1976: Franz Beckenbauer
1975: Oleg Blokhin
1974: Johan Cruyff
1973: Johan Cruyff
1972: Franz Beckenbauer
1971: Johan Cruyff
1970: Gerd Muller
1969: Gianni Rivera
1968: George Best
1967: Florian Albert
1966: Bobby Charlton
1965: Eusebio
1964: Denis Law
1963: Lev Yashin
1962: Josef Masopust
1961: Omar Sivori
1960: Luis Suarez
1959: Alfredo Di Stefano
1958: Raymond Kopa
1957: Alfredo Di Stefano
1956: Stanley Matthews
Who has won the most Ballons d’Or all time?
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- Lionel Messi, 7
- Cristiano Ronaldo, 5
- Michel Platini, 3
- Johan Cruyff, 3
- Marco van Basten, 3
- Franz Beckenbauer, 2
- Ronaldo Nazario, 2
- Alfredo Di Stefano, 2
- Kevin Keegan, 2
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, 2
- Luis Suarez (Spaniard), 1
- Eusebio, 1
- Stanley Matthews
- Bobby Charlton, 1
- Raymond Kopa, 1
- Gerd Muller, 1
- Ronaldinho, 1
- Fabio Cannavaro, 1
- Zinedine Zidane, 1
- Gianni Rivera, 1
- George Weah, 1
- Ruud Gullit, 1
- Rivaldo, 1
- Luis Figo, 1
- Michael Owen, 1
- Lothar Matthaus, 1
- Roberto Baggio, 1
- Florian Albert, 1
- Igor Belanov, 1
- Hristo Stoichkov, 1
- George Best, 1
- Kaka, 1
- Oleg Blokhin, 1
- Pavel Nedved, 1
- Jean-Pierre Papin, 1
- Andriy Shevchenko, 1
- Luka Modric, 1
- Karim Benzema, 1
- Lev Yashin, 1
- Josef Masopust, 1
- Omar Sivori, 1
The 2023 Ballon d’Or award ceremony will be held on October 30 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, where the winner of the award will be announced.
