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The Ballon d’Or is a football award that takes place annually. This award has been presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956. A partnership formed with FIFA from 2010 to 2015 saw the award being called the FIFA Ballon d’Or for six years, but this partnership ended in 2016.
The Ballon d’Or is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual award in football. The idea for this individual award was come up by sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran. They came up with the idea to award the best player in the calendar year with an award called the Ballon d’Or.
When the Ballon d’Or started in 1956, it was awarded to only European players and was, therefore, called the European Footballer of the Year Award. In 1995, the rules were changed to include players of any origin who have been active at European clubs. In 2007, two more massive changes happened to the Ballon d’Or award. After 2007, captains and coaches of national teams were given the right to vote for the Ballon d’Or winner. The award also became a global prize after 2007 as the Ballon d’Or award was opened to all professional footballers worldwide.
France Football made some final changes to the rules in 2022, which saw them change the timing of the award. This meant that the award would now be awarded for achievements during a football season and not a calendar year. It was also decided that only the countries that were in the top 100 of the FIFA World Ranking would be allowed to vote.
List Of Past Ballon d’Or Winners:
| Year | Player | Nationality | Club |
| 2022 | Karim Benzema | France | Real Madrid |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2020 | NOT AWARDED | ||
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 2018 | Luka Modric | Croatia | 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 | AC Milan |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Italy | Real Madrid |
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | AC 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 | Inter Milan |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany | Borussia Dortmund |
| 1995 | George Weah | Liberia | AC Milan |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria | Barcelona |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy | Juventus |
| 1992 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | AC Milan |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France | Marseille |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Germany | Inter Milan |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | Netherlands | Milan |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kiev |
| 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 Monchengladbach |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kiev |
| 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 | AC Milan |
| 1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland | Manchester United |
| 1967 | Flórián Albert | Hungary | Ferencvaros |
| 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 |
Players who have won the most amount of Ballon d’Ors:
1. Lionel Messi (7)
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or more than any other footballer. He has won this prestigious award 7 times. The Argentine superstar has won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2022. The rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo is what pushed both players to be even better. They pushed each other to their limits and this could be seen in the dominance by both these players in the Ballon d’Or from 2008 to 2017.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo (5)
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or on 5 different occasions. He won his first Ballon d’Or in 2008 at Manchester United. When Lionel Messi won his 4th Ballon d’Or award in 2012, Ronaldo had won it just once, but their rivalry along with his desire to win the award made it possible to win the award in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017, all while playing for Real Madrid. This meant that as of 2017, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had both won 5 Ballon d’Ors each. While Messi went on to win more Ballon d’Ors, having won 5 Ballon d’Ors is also an incredible achievement which shows just how good Cristiano Ronaldo is.
3. Johan Cruyff
Johan Cruyff has won the Ballon d’Or 3 times. Cruyff won the Ballon d’Or in 1971, 1973, and 1974. When Cruyff won the award in 1971, he played for Ajax. His Ballon d’Ors in 1973 and 1974 however came when he played for Spanish side Barcelona. Cruyff is widely known for his amazing football IQ and how he changed the game both as a footballer and a manager. He is considered by many as the greatest Dutch footballer of all time.
4. Michel Platini (3)
Michel Platini won the Ballon d’Or on 3 different occasions. Platini is a French international who played as a midfielder in his football days. He won the Ballon d’Or 3 times in a row, in 1983, 1984, and 1985. He played at Juventus during all of his Ballon d’Or wins.
5. Marco van Basten (3)
Marco van Basten is a Dutch international who played as a striker. Marco van Basten also managed to get his hands on 3 different Ballon d’Or trophies. He won the award in 1988, 1989, and 1992. He played for AC Milan when he won all of these Ballon d’Or awards.
Editors pick
