The Ballon d’Or is a football award which is presented annually by France Football, a weekly football magazine. The tradition of Ballon d’Or is being followed since 1956.
The award was merged with FIFA Player of the Year in 2010, and was renamed as the FIFA Ballon d’Or. However, the agreement was over in 2016 and FIFA went on to make its own separate award known as The Best FIFA Football Awards.
The Ballon d’Or is awarded to the male football player who has made a remarkable display of talent and has the best overall performance in the previous year. The voting for the nomination of the award is done by football journalists.
Ballon d'Or 2022
The 2022 Ballon d'Or award function is set to undergo a change as the award's criteria of judging a player's personal and team achievements over a calendar year, will be changed to judging performances over the course of a typical club season. Therefore, the 2022 Ballon d'or will include the upcoming 2022 World Cup as well.
Ballon d'Or 2022 SK Power Rankings (March 2022)
| Player | Club |
| Karim Benzema | Real Madrid |
| Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich |
| Mohammed Salah | Liverpool |
| Kylian Mbappe | PSG |
| Bernardo Silva | Manchester City |
| Vinicius Jr | Real Madrid |
| Riyad Mahrez | Manchester City |
| Thomas Muller | Bayern Munich |
| Trent Alexander Arnold | Liverpool |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
History
The Ballon d’Or award honours was initially only awarded to European players. However, since 1995 it expanded to include all the players of from any origin who played active role in the European clubs. In 2007, the award finally reached out to include all professional players around the world irrespective of their origin or league.
Interesting Facts
Stanley Matthews of English club Blackpool, was the first player to be awarded the Ballon d’Or.
George Weah was the first non-European and only African player to receive the award.
Argentine Lionel Messi is the only player in the history of football who has won the award for a record seven times followed by the Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo who has won the award five times
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Ballon d'Or Winners
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | PSG |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2018 | Luka Modric | Croatian | Real Madrid |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Manchester United |
| 2007 | Kaká | Brazil | Milan |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Italy | Real Madrid |
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | Milan |
| 2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Czech Republic | Juventus |
| 2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Real Madrid |
| 2001 | Michael Owen | England | Liverpool |
| 2000 | Luís Figo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France | Juventus |
| 1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Internazionale |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany | Borussia Dortmund |
| 1995 | George Weah | Liberia | Milan |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria | Barcelona |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy | Juventus |
| 1992 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France | Marseille |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Germany | Internazionale |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1985 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1983 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | Juventus |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark | Borussia M”nchengladbach |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Ajax |
| 1970 | Gerd Müller | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | Italy | Milan |
| 1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland | Manchester United |
| 1967 | Flórián Albert | Hungary | Ferencvarosi TC |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | England | Manchester United |
| 1965 | Eusébio | Portugal | Benfica |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Scotland | Manchester United |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Moscow |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Prague |
| 1961 | Omar Sívori | Italy | Juventus |
| 1960 | Luis Suárez | Spain | Barcelona |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain | Real Madrid |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | France | Real Madrid |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain | Real Madrid |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | England | Blackpool |
FAQ
Why was the 2020 Ballon d'Or cancelled?
The 2020 Ballon d'Or was cancelled as the European football season was cut short due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Who won the 2021 Ballon d'Or?
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or 2019 for the 7th time by the finest of margins.
Who has won the most Ballon d'Or Awards?
Lionel Messi has won the most Ballon d'Or with 7 awards in the Football history.
How many times has Cristiano Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or?
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or 5 times in 2013, 2014, 2016 & 2017.
