The Ballon d’Or award is presented to the best footballer of the year by France Football. Journalists of France football and other federations have a 50% vote percentage.
The other 50% vote is cast by the national and club team Captains and coaches. France Football presents the Ballon d’Or based on the performance of the player, and how impactful the player was for his team.
The first-ever Ballon d’Or award was given in 1956. The most recent Ballon d’Or award is given to Leo Messi in 2021.
Total 66 Ballon d’Or has been awarded and Leo Messi wins the most. He won 7 ballon d’Or. Cristiano Ronaldo comes second on the list by winning 5. other than them, No player manages to win more than 3.
Let’s take a look at the past winners of Ballon d’Or:
Year | Winner | Nationality |
---|---|---|
1956 | Stanley Matthews | England |
1957 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain |
1958 | Raymond Kopa | France |
1959 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain |
1960 | Luis Suárez | Spain |
1961 | Omar Sívori | Italy |
1962 | Josef Masopust | Czechoslovakia |
1963 | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union |
1964 | Denis Law | Scotland |
1965 | Eusébio da Silva Ferreira | Portugal |
1966 | Bobby Charlton | England |
1967 | Flórián Albert | Hungary |
1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland |
1969 | Gianni Rivera | Italy |
1970 | Gerd Müller | West Germany |
1971 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands |
1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany |
1973 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands |
1974 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands |
1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Soviet Union |
1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany |
1977 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark |
1978 | Kevin Keegan | England |
1979 | Kevin Keegan | England |
1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany |
1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany |
1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy |
1983 | Michel Platini | France |
1984 | Michel Platini | France |
1985 | Michel Platini | France |
1986 | Igor Belanov | Igor Belanov |
1987 | Ruud Gullit | Netherlands |
1988 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands |
1989 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands |
1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Germany |
1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France |
1992 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands |
1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy |
1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria |
1995 | George Weah | Liberia |
1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany |
1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil |
1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France |
1999 | Rivaldo | Brazil |
2000 | Luís Figo | Portugal |
2001 | Michael Owen | England |
2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil |
2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Czech Republic |
2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukrain |
2005 | Ronaldinho | Brazil |
2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Italy |
2007 | Kaká | Brazil |
2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal |
2009 | Lionel Messi | Argentina |
2010 | Lionel Messi | Argentina |
2011 | Lionel Messi | Argentina |
2012 | Lionel Messi | Argentina |
2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal |
2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal |
2015 | Lionel Messi | Argentina |
2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal |
2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal |
2018 | Luka Modric | Croatia |
2019 | Lionel Messi | Argentina |
2020 | Not awarded | |
2021 | Lionel Messi | Argentina |
2022 | Karim Benzema | France |
until 1995, The award was referred to as the European footballer of the year. it was only given to European players.
After 1995, the eligibility rules were changed. Then it was allowed the non-European players to be eligible for the award. Rules further change and in 2007, any player is declared eligible to win this award.
FIFA player of the year and Ballon d’Or were awarded separately. Between 2009-2015, both federations merged their awards and it goes with the name of FIFA Ballon d’Or.
FAQs Regarding Ballon d’Or award
Q. Who wins the most Ballon d’Or awards?
A. last night, Leo Messi won his record 7 Ballon d’Or, which is most the history of the award.
Q. How many Ballon d’Or does Cristiano Ronaldo have?
A. Cristiano Ronaldo has 5 ballon d’Ors.
Q. Why Lewandoski didn’t win Ballon d’Or in 2020?
A. Ballon d’Or 2020 was canceled by France football due to a covid pandemic. Although he won the FIFA player of the year award.
How many Balloon D’or would Pele and Maradonna would have won if the award starting 1956 was awarded globally like today?
Really interesting post!