The Ballon d’Or is a prestigious annual football award that is presented by the French weekly magazine France Football. It has been in existence since 1956 and is one of the oldest and most highly regarded individual awards granted to football players.

Between 2010 and 2015, FIFA reached an agreement with France Football, and the Ballon d’Or was temporarily combined with the FIFA World Player of the Year (established in 1991) and renamed the FIFA Ballon d’Or. However, the partnership ended in 2016, and the trophy was renamed the Ballon d’Or, while FIFA instituted its own independent annual award, The Best FIFA Men’s Player. Both award organizations recognize the joint FIFA Ballon d’Or winners as winners of their respective awards.

From 1956 to 2006, the Ballon d’Or award was initiated by sports writer Gabriel Hanot to recognize the male player who had performed the best during the preceding year, as determined by a vote of football journalists. Coaches and captains of national teams were granted voting privileges beginning in 2007. The award was initially created for European players only and was known as the European Footballer of the Year award. It was extended in 1995 to include players of any nationality who had played for European clubs. In 2007, the award was opened up to players from all over the world who play professionally.

Ballon d’Or winners by player

• 1956: Stanley Matthews (Blackpool)
• 1957: Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
• 1958: Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid)
• 1959: Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
• 1960: Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
• 1961: Omar Sivori (Juventus)
• 1962: Josef Masopust (Dukla Prague)
• 1963: Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow)
• 1964: Denis Law (Manchester United)
• 1965: Eusebio (Benfica)
• 1966: Bobby Charlton (Manchester United)
• 1967: Florian Albert (Ferencvaros)
• 1968: George Best (Manchester United)
• 1969: Gianni Rivera (AC Milan)
• 1970: Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich)
• 1971: Johan Cruyff (Ajax)
• 1972: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
• 1973: Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
• 1974: Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
• 1975: Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv)
• 1976: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
• 1977: Allan Simonsen (Borussia Monchengladbach)
• 1978: Kevin Keegan (Hamburg)
• 1979: Kevin Keegan (Hamburg)
• 1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich)
• 1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich)
• 1982: Paolo Rossi (Juventus)
• 1983: Michel Platini (Juventus)
• 1984: Michel Platini (Juventus)
• 1985: Michel Platini (Juventus)
• 1986: Igor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv)
• 1987: Ruud Gullit (AC Milan)
• 1988: Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
• 1989: Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
• 1990: Lothar Matthaus (Internazionale)
• 1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille)
• 1992: Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
• 1993: Roberto Baggio (Juventus)
• 1994: Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona)
• 1995: George Weah (AC Milan)
• 1996: Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund)
• 1997: Ronaldo (Internazionale)
• 1998: Zinedine Zidane (Juventus)
• 1999: Rivaldo (Barcelona)
• 2000: Luis Figo (Real Madrid)
• 2001: Michael Owen (Liverpool)
• 2002: Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
• 2003: Pavel Nedved (Juventus)
• 2004: Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)
• 2005: Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
• 2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
• 2007: Kaka (Milan)
• 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
• 2009: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
• 2010: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
• 2011: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
• 2012: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
• 2013: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
• 2014: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
• 2015: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
• 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
• 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
• 2018: Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
• 2019: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
• 2020: Cancelled because of Covid-19
• 2021: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
• 2022: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Year	Rank	Player	Team	Points
Ballon d’Or (1956–2009)
1956	1st	Stanley Matthews	Blackpool	47
	2nd	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Real Madrid	44
	3rd	Raymond Kopa	Real Madrid	33
1957	1st	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Real Madrid	72
	2nd	Billy Wright	Wolverhampton Wanderers	19
	3rd	Duncan Edwards	Manchester United	16
		Raymond Kopa	Real Madrid
1958	1st	Raymond Kopa	Real Madrid	71
	2nd	Helmut Rahn	Rot-Weiss Essen	40
	3rd	Just Fontaine	Reims	23
1959	1st	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Real Madrid	80
	2nd	Raymond Kopa	Reims	42
	3rd	John Charles	Juventus	24
1960	1st	Luis Suárez	Barcelona	54
	2nd	Ferenc Puskás	Real Madrid	37
	3rd	Uwe Seeler	Hamburger SV	33
1961	1st	Omar Sívori	Juventus	46
	2nd	Luis Suárez	Internazionale	40
	3rd	Johnny Haynes	Fulham	22
1962	1st	Josef Masopust	Dukla Prague	65
	2nd	Eusébio	Benfica	53
	3rd	Karl-Heinz Schnellinger	1. FC Köln	33
1963	1st	Lev Yashin	Dynamo Moscow	73
	2nd	Gianni Rivera	Milan	55
	3rd	Jimmy Greaves	Tottenham Hotspur	50
1964	1st	Denis Law	Manchester United	61
	2nd	Luis Suárez	Internazionale	43
	3rd	Amancio	Real Madrid	38
1965	1st	Eusébio	Benfica	67
	2nd	Giacinto Facchetti	Internazionale	59
	3rd	Luis Suárez	Internazionale	45
1966	1st	Bobby Charlton	Manchester United	81
	2nd	Eusébio	Benfica	80
	3rd	Franz Beckenbauer	Bayern Munich	59
1967	1st	Flórián Albert	Ferencváros	68
	2nd	Bobby Charlton	Manchester United	40
	3rd	Jimmy Johnstone	Celtic	39
1968	1st	George Best	Manchester United	61
	2nd	Bobby Charlton	Manchester United	53
	3rd	Dragan Džajić	Red Star Belgrade	46
1969	1st	Gianni Rivera	Milan	83
	2nd	Gigi Riva	Cagliari	79
	3rd	Gerd Müller	Bayern Munich	38
1970	1st	Gerd Müller	Bayern Munich	77
	2nd	Bobby Moore	West Ham United	70
	3rd	Gigi Riva	Cagliari	65
1971	1st	Johan Cruyff	Ajax	116
	2nd	Sandro Mazzola	Internazionale	57
	3rd	George Best	Manchester United	56
1972	1st	Franz Beckenbauer	Bayern Munich	81
	2nd	Gerd Müller	Bayern Munich	79
		Günter Netzer	Borussia Mönchengladbach
1973	1st	Johan Cruyff	Barcelona	96
	2nd	Dino Zoff	Juventus	47
	3rd	Gerd Müller	Bayern Munich	44
1974	1st	Johan Cruyff	Barcelona	116
	2nd	Franz Beckenbauer	Bayern Munich	105
	3rd	Kazimierz Deyna	Legia Warsaw	35
1975	1st	Oleg Blokhin	Dynamo Kyiv	122
	2nd	Franz Beckenbauer	Bayern Munich	42
	3rd	Johan Cruyff	Barcelona	27
1976	1st	Franz Beckenbauer	Bayern Munich	91
	2nd	Rob Rensenbrink	Anderlecht	75
	3rd	Ivo Viktor	Dukla Prague	52
1977	1st	Allan Simonsen	Borussia Mönchengladbach	74
	2nd	Kevin Keegan	Hamburger SV	71
	3rd	Michel Platini	Nancy	70
1978	1st	Kevin Keegan	Hamburger SV	87
	2nd	Hans Krankl	Barcelona	81
	3rd	Rob Rensenbrink	Anderlecht	50
1979	1st	Kevin Keegan	Hamburger SV	118
	2nd	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	Bayern Munich	52
	3rd	Ruud Krol	Ajax	41
1980	1st	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	Bayern Munich	122
	2nd	Bernd Schuster	Barcelona	34
	3rd	Michel Platini	Saint-Étienne	33
1981	1st	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	Bayern Munich	106
	2nd	Paul Breitner	Bayern Munich	64
	3rd	Bernd Schuster	Barcelona	39
1982	1st	Paolo Rossi	Juventus	115
	2nd	Alain Giresse	Girondins de Bordeaux	64
	3rd	Zbigniew Boniek	Juventus	39
1983	1st	Michel Platini	Juventus	110
	2nd	Kenny Dalglish	Liverpool	26
	3rd	Allan Simonsen	Vejle BK	25
1984	1st	Michel Platini	Juventus	110
	2nd	Jean Tigana	Girondins de Bordeaux	57
	3rd	Preben Elkjær	Hellas Verona	48
1985	1st	Michel Platini	Juventus	127
	2nd	Preben Elkjær	Hellas Verona	71
	3rd	Bernd Schuster	Barcelona	46
1986	1st	Igor Belanov	Dynamo Kyiv	84
	2nd	Gary Lineker	Barcelona	62
	3rd	Emilio Butragueño	Real Madrid	59
1987	1st	Ruud Gullit	Milan	106
	2nd	Paulo Futre	Atlético Madrid	91
	3rd	Emilio Butragueño	Real Madrid	61
1988	1st	Marco van Basten	Milan	129
	2nd	Ruud Gullit	Milan	88
	3rd	Frank Rijkaard	Milan	45
1989	1st	Marco van Basten	Milan	129
	2nd	Franco Baresi	Milan	80
	3rd	Frank Rijkaard	Milan	43
1990	1st	Lothar Matthäus	Internazionale	137
	2nd	Salvatore Schillaci	Juventus	84
	3rd	Andreas Brehme	Internazionale	68
1991	1st	Jean-Pierre Papin	Marseille	141
	2nd	Dejan Savićević	Red Star Belgrade	42
		Darko Pančev	Red Star Belgrade
		Lothar Matthäus	Internazionale
1992	1st	Marco van Basten	Milan	98
	2nd	Hristo Stoichkov	Barcelona	80
	3rd	Dennis Bergkamp	Ajax	53
1993	1st	Roberto Baggio	Juventus	142
	2nd	Dennis Bergkamp	Internazionale	83
	3rd	Eric Cantona	Manchester United	34
1994	1st	Hristo Stoichkov	Barcelona	210
	2nd	Roberto Baggio	Juventus	136
	3rd	Paolo Maldini	Milan	109
1995	1st	George Weah	Milan	144
	2nd	Jürgen Klinsmann	Bayern Munich	108
	3rd	Jari Litmanen	Ajax	67
1996	1st	Matthias Sammer	Borussia Dortmund	144
	2nd	Ronaldo	Barcelona	143
	3rd	Alan Shearer	Newcastle United	107
1997	1st	Ronaldo	Internazionale	222
	2nd	Predrag Mijatović	Real Madrid	68
	3rd	Zinedine Zidane	Juventus	63
1998	1st	Zinedine Zidane	Juventus	244
	2nd	Davor Šuker	Real Madrid	68
	3rd	Ronaldo	Internazionale	66
1999	1st	Rivaldo	Barcelona	219
	2nd	David Beckham	Manchester United	154
	3rd	Andriy Shevchenko	Milan	64
2000	1st	Luís Figo	Real Madrid	197
	2nd	Zinedine Zidane	Juventus	181
	3rd	Andriy Shevchenko	Milan	85
2001	1st	Michael Owen	Liverpool	176
	2nd	Raúl	Real Madrid	140
	3rd	Oliver Kahn	Bayern Munich	114
2002	1st	Ronaldo	Real Madrid	169
	2nd	Roberto Carlos	Real Madrid	145
	3rd	Oliver Kahn	Bayern Munich	110
2003	1st	Pavel Nedvěd	Juventus	190
	2nd	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	128
	3rd	Paolo Maldini	Milan	123
2004	1st	Andriy Shevchenko	Milan	175
	2nd	Deco	Barcelona	139
	3rd	Ronaldinho	Barcelona	133
2005	1st	Ronaldinho	Barcelona	225
	2nd	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	148
	3rd	Steven Gerrard	Liverpool	142
2006	1st	Fabio Cannavaro	Real Madrid	173
	2nd	Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus	124
	3rd	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	121
2007	1st	Kaká	Milan	444
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	277
	3rd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	255
2008	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	446
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	281
	3rd	Fernando Torres	Liverpool	179
2009	1st	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	473
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	233
	3rd	Xavi	Barcelona	170
FIFA Ballon d’Or (2010–2015)
2010	1st	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	22.65%
	2nd	Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	17.36%
	3rd	Xavi	Barcelona	16.48%
2011	1st	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	47.88%
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	21.60%
	3rd	Xavi	Barcelona	9.23%
2012	1st	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	41.60%
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	23.68%
	3rd	Andrés Iniesta	Barcelona	10.91%
2013	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	27.99%
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	24.72%
	3rd	Franck Ribéry	Bayern Munich	23.36%
2014	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	37.66%
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	15.76%
	3rd	Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich	15.72%
2015	1st	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	41.33%
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	27.76%
	3rd	Neymar	Barcelona	7.86%
Ballon d’Or (2016–present)
2016	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	745
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	316
	3rd	Antoine Griezmann	Atlético Madrid	198
2017	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	946
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	670
	3rd	Neymar	Paris Saint-Germain	361
2018	1st	Luka Modrić	Real Madrid	753
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	476
	3rd	Antoine Griezmann	Atlético Madrid	414
2019	1st	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	686
	2nd	Virgil van Dijk	Liverpool	679
	3rd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Juventus	476
2020	Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021	1st	Lionel Messi	Paris Saint-Germain	613
	2nd	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich	580
	3rd	Jorginho	Chelsea	460
2022	1st	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	549
	2nd	Sadio Mané	Liverpool	193
	3rd	Kevin De Bruyne	Manchester City	175

Ballon d’Or winners by country

Country	Players	Wins
Argentina	1	7
Netherlands	3	7
Portugal	3	7
Germany	5	7
France	5	7
Italy	5	5
Brazil	4	5
England	4	5
Soviet Union	3	3
Spain	2	3
Bulgaria	1	1
Croatia	1	1
Czech Republic	1	1
Czechoslovakia	1	1
Denmark	1	1
Hungary	1	1
Liberia	1	1
Northern Ireland	1	1
Scotland	1	1
Ukraine	1	1

Ballon d’Or winners by Clubs

Club	Players	Wins
Barcelona	6	12
Real Madrid	7	11
Juventus	6	8
Milan	6	8
Bayern Munich	3	5
Manchester United	4	4
Dynamo Kyiv	2	2
Internazionale	2	2
Hamburger SV	1	2
Ajax	1	1
Benfica	1	1
Blackpool	1	1
Borussia Dortmund	1	1
Borussia Mönchengladbach	1	1
Dukla Prague	1	1
Dynamo Moscow	1	1
Ferencváros	1	1
Liverpool	1	1
Marseille	1	1
Paris Saint-Germain	1	1

Additional awards

In 1989, Alfredo Di Stéfano was granted an honorary award called the Super Ballon d’Or, as he had garnered more votes than Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini in France Football’s poll. A decade later, France Football named Pelé the Football Player of the Century after consulting with their previous Ballon d’Or awardees; of the 34 former winners, 30 participated in the voting process, with Stanley Matthews, Omar Sívori, and George Best abstaining, and Lev Yashin having passed away. Each voter was allowed five votes, valued at up to five points each. Notably, Di Stéfano only selected a first-place recipient, Platini a first and second place, and George Weah chose two players for fifth place. Out of the 30 voters, 17 declared Pelé as the greatest player, netting him nearly twice the number of points earned by the runner-up, Diego Maradona.

In 2016, to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Ballon d’Or, France Football reevaluated the awards granted before 1995, when solely European players were eligible for the accolade. Retrospectively, 12 out of the 39 Ballons d’Or awarded during this period would have gone to South American players, with Pelé, Diego Maradona, Garrincha, Mario Kempes, and Romário being acknowledged as deserving of the honor. However, the original recipients were not altered.

Maradona and Pelé were each bestowed honorary Ballons d’Or in 1995 and 2013, respectively, for their contributions to football.