The Ballon d'Or award, which was originally given out in 1956, is detailed here. Lionel Messi was the most recent winner in 2021. Messi has the record for most Ballon d'Or wins with seven, while Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record with five.
Because it was solely accessible to European players at European clubs until 1995, the award was sometimes referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award. In 1995, the criteria were altered to allow non-European players who played for a European team to be eligible for the award. Then, in 2007, any player from anywhere on the planet became eligible.
Many people who come to our page are seeking for the FIFA Player of the Year results. The Ballon d'Or and FIFA Player of the Year honors were amalgamated between 2009 and 2015 to form the FIFA Ballon d'Or. The inaugural women's Ballon d'Or award (dubbed the Ballon d'Or Féminin) was awarded in 2018.
The trophy was amalgamated with the FIFA Player of the Year award from 2009. In 2016, France Football declared that their association with FIFA was ending and that the Ballon d'Or would be revived, with the 2016 edition being the 61st. There was no award in 2020 owing to the interruption of international sport caused by the coronavirus epidemic.
List of Men's Ballon d'Or award winners
year player
2021 Lionel Messi
2020 not awarded
2019 Lionel Messi
2018 Luka Modric
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo
2015 Lionel Messi
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo
2013 Cristiano Ronaldo
2012 Lionel Messi
2011 Lionel Messi
2010 Lionel Messi
2009 Lionel Messi
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo
2007 Kaká
2006 Fabio Cannavaro
2005 Ronaldinho
2004 Andriy Shevchenko
2003 Pavel Nedvěd
2002 Ronaldo Brazil
2001 Michael Owen
2000 Luís Figo Portugal
1999 Rivaldo Brazil
1998 Zinedine Zidane
1997 Ronaldo Brazil
1996 Matthias Sammer
1995 George Weah
1994 Hristo Stoichkov
1993 Roberto Baggio
1992 Marco van Basten
1991 Jean-Pierre Papin
1990 Lothar Matthäus
1989 Marco van Basten
1988 Marco van Basten
1987 Ruud Gullit
1986 Igor Belanov
1985 Michel Platini
1984 Michel Platini
1983 Michel Platini
1982 Paolo Rossi
1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1979 Kevin Keegan
1978 Kevin Keegan
1977 Allan Simonsen
1976 Franz Beckenbauer
1975 Oleg Blokhin
1974 Johan Cruyff
1973 Johan Cruyff
1972 Franz Beckenbauer
1971 Johan Cruyff
1970 Gerd Müller
1969 Gianni Rivera
1968 George Best
1967 Flórián Albert
1966 Bobby Charlton
1965 Eusébio
1964 Denis Law
1963 Lev Yashin
1962 Josef Masopust
1961 Omar Sívori
1960 Luis Suárez
1959 Alfredo Di Stéfano
1958 Raymond Kopa
1957 Alfredo Di Stéfano
1956 Stanley Matthews