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đŸ„‡ Ballon d'Or

The world's most prestigious individual football award — since 1956. Before 1995 only European players.

Men 1956-2024

8× Messi (record), 5× C. Ronaldo, 3× Cruyff/Platini/van Basten. 2020 cancelled due to COVID.

1956 Stanley Matthews Blackpool
The very first Ballon d'Or winner. 41 years old — still the oldest winner ever.
1957 Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid
Argentine-born but played for Spain. First Real Madrid player to win.
1958 Raymond Kopa Real Madrid
First French winner. Polish heritage (Kopaszewski).
1959 Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid
Di Stefano's second Ballon d'Or.
1960 Luis SuĂĄrez Barcelona
The only Spanish-born player to have won the Ballon d'Or (Suarez Miramontes).
1961 Omar SĂ­vori Juventus
Argentine-born, played for Italy — allowed at a time when the rules required a European national team.
1962 Josef Masopust Dukla Prag
Czechoslovakia had just lost the World Cup final to Brazil.
1963 Lev Yashin Dynamo Moskva
The only goalkeeper in Ballon d'Or history.
1964 Denis Law Manchester United
The only Scot to win the Ballon d'Or.
1965 Eusébio Benfica
Mozambique-born. First Portuguese winner.
1966 Bobby Charlton Manchester United
After England's home World Cup title in 1966.
1967 FlĂłriĂĄn Albert FerencvĂĄros
The only Hungarian to win the Ballon d'Or.
1968 George Best Manchester United
After United's European Cup win. Best at 22 was then one of the youngest winners.
1969 Gianni Rivera Milan
Italy's 'Il Golden Boy'.
1970 Gerd MĂŒller Bayern MĂŒnchen
Top scorer at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico (10 goals). Pele finished third — as a non-European he could not win at the time.
1971 Johan Cruyff Ajax
First of Cruyff's three Ballon d'Ors.
1972 Franz Beckenbauer Bayern MĂŒnchen
After West Germany's European Championship title.
1973 Johan Cruyff Ajax / Barcelona
Moved from Ajax to Barcelona during the year.
1974 Johan Cruyff Barcelona
Cruyff's third and final — despite the World Cup final defeat to Beckenbauer's West Germany.
1975 Oleg Blokhin Dynamo Kiev
Ukrainian forward — won the Cup Winners' Cup with Dynamo Kyiv.
1976 Franz Beckenbauer Bayern MĂŒnchen
Beckenbauer's second — defended a third consecutive European Cup with Bayern.
1977 Allan Simonsen Borussia Mönchengladbach
The only Dane to win the Ballon d'Or. One of the most unexpected winners.
1978 Kevin Keegan Hamburger SV
Played in the Bundesliga — unusual for an Englishman at the time.
1979 Kevin Keegan Hamburger SV
Keegan's second in a row — won the Bundesliga title with Hamburg.
1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern MĂŒnchen
After West Germany's European Championship title in 1980.
1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern MĂŒnchen
Rummenigge's second in a row.
1982 Paolo Rossi Juventus
World Cup top scorer 1982 (6 goals) — comeback after suspension for match-fixing.
1983 Michel Platini Juventus
First of Platini's three consecutive Ballon d'Ors.
1984 Michel Platini Juventus
After France's home European Championship title in 1984 where Platini scored 9 goals.
1985 Michel Platini Juventus
Platini's third in a row — a record that stood until Messi 2009-2012.
1986 Igor Belanov Dynamo Kiev
Maradona could not win — as an Argentine, excluded under the rules at the time despite the World Cup title. Many believe Maradona should have had it.
1987 Ruud Gullit PSV / Milan
Moved from PSV to Milan for a record fee.
1988 Marco van Basten Milan
After Holland's European Championship title and van Basten's famous volley in the final.
1989 Marco van Basten Milan
Milan's European Cup win in 1989.
1990 Lothar MatthÀus Inter
West Germany's World Cup-winning captain in 1990 — the last tournament as West Germany.
1991 Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille
Ligue 1 top scorer five years in a row — the JPP era.
1992 Marco van Basten Milan
Van Basten's third — last season before the ankle injury forced him to retire at 28.
1993 Roberto Baggio Juventus
Il Divin Codino — the year before he missed the 1994 World Cup final penalty.
1994 Hristo Stoichkov Barcelona
Led Bulgaria to the World Cup semi-final 1994 — joint top scorer with Salenko (6 goals).
1995 George Weah Milan
First non-European winner after the rule change (previously only Europeans). Later President of Liberia.
1996 Matthias Sammer Borussia Dortmund
Last German winner so far. After the European Championship title in 1996.
1997 Ronaldo Inter
Youngest winner for a long time — 21 years old. Il Fenomeno (R9).
1998 Zinedine Zidane Juventus
After France's home World Cup title — Zidane scored two goals in the final.
1999 Rivaldo Barcelona
La Liga champion with Barcelona.
2000 LuĂ­s Figo Real Madrid
The year he moved from Barcelona to Real Madrid — controversial pig's-head incident later.
2001 Michael Owen Liverpool
Liverpool won the FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup in 2001. Last English winner so far.
2002 Ronaldo Real Madrid
Comeback after two severe knee injuries. World Cup top scorer 2002 (8 goals) and won the final.
2003 Pavel Nedvěd Juventus
The only Czech after Czechoslovakia's split. Juventus star.
2004 Andriy Shevchenko Milan
The only Ukrainian winner. Last winner before the Messi/Ronaldo era began.
2005 Ronaldinho Barcelona
At his peak. Got a standing ovation at the Bernabeu after crushing Real Madrid.
2006 Fabio Cannavaro Real Madrid
Italy's World Cup-winning captain in 2006. Last defender to win the Ballon d'Or.
2007 KakĂĄ Milan
Last winner before the Messi/Ronaldo duopoly began. Led Milan to the Champions League title.
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United
Ronaldo's first of five in total. Won the Premier League and Champions League with United.
2009 Lionel Messi Barcelona
Messi's first. Barcelona won the sextuple in 2009.
2010 Lionel Messi Barcelona
First 'FIFA Ballon d'Or' — merger with FIFA World Player. Controversial — Iniesta/Xavi won the World Cup with Spain, but Messi took the award.
2011 Lionel Messi Barcelona
Messi's third. The FIFA Ballon d'Or era.
2012 Lionel Messi Barcelona
Fourth consecutive — a record. Scored 91 goals during the calendar year 2012, still a record.
2013 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Broke Messi's four-in-a-row. Many felt Ribery should have won after Bayern's treble.
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Won La Decima (10th Champions League) with Real Madrid.
2015 Lionel Messi Barcelona
Last 'FIFA Ballon d'Or' before the separation in 2016. Barcelona won the treble.
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
France Football separated from FIFA. Portugal won the European Championship, Real Madrid won the Champions League.
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
Ronaldo's fifth and so far last — equalled Messi's five (Messi went past later).
2018 Luka Modrić Real Madrid
Broke the Messi/Ronaldo dominance after 10 years. Led Croatia to the World Cup final.
2019 Lionel Messi Barcelona
Messi's sixth. Van Dijk came close to winning after Liverpool's Champions League victory.
2020 — CANCELLED —
CANCELLED due to the COVID-19 pandemic. France Football considered that no season could be judged fairly as leagues were suspended and played without an audience. First time since the start in 1956 without a winner.
2021 Lionel Messi Barcelona / Paris Saint-Germain
Messi's seventh — a record. Won the Copa America with Argentina (first national team title). Controversial — many felt Lewandowski should have won both 2020 and 2021.
2022 Karim Benzema Real Madrid
After Real Madrid's 14th Champions League where Benzema was match-winning in several knockout matches.
2023 Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain / Inter Miami
Messi's eighth — an untouchable record. After the 2022 World Cup title with Argentina. Moved to Inter Miami during the year.
2024 Rodri Manchester City
First defensive midfielder since Matthaeus 1990. Won the European Championship with Spain and the Premier League with City. Vinicius Junior and Real Madrid boycotted the gala in protest.