Ballon d'Or

The Ballon d'Or (French pronunciation: [balɔ̃ dɔʁ] (listen); lit.'Golden Ball') is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (founded in 1991) and known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or. That partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d'Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men's Player. The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d'Or are considered as winners by both award organisations.

Ballon d'Or
Ballon d'Or trophy
Date1956 (1956)
CountryFrance
Presented byFrance Football
First awarded1956
Current holder Karim Benzema
(1st award)
Most awards Lionel Messi
(7 awards)
Most nominations Cristiano Ronaldo
(18 nominations)[1]
Websitefrancefootball.fr

Conceived by sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran, the Ballon d'Or award honours the male player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists, from 1956 to 2006.[2] After 2007, coaches and captains of national teams were also given the right to vote.[2] Originally, it was awarded only to players from Europe and widely known as the European Footballer of the Year award. In 1995, the Ballon d'Or was expanded to include all players from any origin that have been active at European clubs.[3][4] The award became a global prize in 2007 with all professional footballers from around the world being eligible.[5]

History

Stanley Matthews of England was the inaugural winner of the Ballon d'Or.[6] Prior to 2007, the award was generally known as the continental European Footballer of the Year award in English language and much international media. Even after 2007, it was usually identified with and referred to by that name because of its origin as a European award, until it was merged with FIFA's World Player award cementing its new worldwide claim.[7][8][9][10] Liberia's George Weah, the only African recipient, became the first non-European to win the award in 1995, the year that rules of eligibility were changed for the first time.[4] Ronaldo of Brazil became the first South American winner two years later.[4] The second rule change in 2007 to include players from all continents did not bring up new winners, as all recipients since then have still exclusively been active in Europe during their win.

Lionel Messi has won the award a record seven times, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with five. Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten. With seven awards each, Dutch, German, Argentine, Portuguese and French players have won the most Ballons d'Or. Players from Germany (1972, 1981) and the Netherlands (1988) were the only to take all three top spots in one year, with German (1972) and especially Italian clubs (1988–1990) achieving the same feat, including two years solely made up of AC Milan players (1988, 1989), a unique record until Spanish clubs experienced an unforeseen dominance (2009–2012, 2015, 2016) and Barcelona (2010) became the second club with three top players. Two Spanish clubs, Barcelona and Real Madrid, also lead the ranking for employing the most winners, with twelve wins.[11]

Between 2010 and 2015 inclusive, the award was merged with a similar one, the FIFA World Player of the Year award, to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or, which was awarded to the world's best male player before FIFA and France Football decided not to continue the merging agreement.[12] After 2011, UEFA created the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award to maintain the tradition of the original Ballon d'Or of specifically honouring a football player from Europe.[13]

Eight players (Bobby Charlton, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Paolo Rossi, Zinedine Zidane, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Kaká) have won the FIFA World Cup, the European Cup/UEFA Champions League, and the Ballon d'Or during their careers.[14]

The award shows a bias in favor of attacking players, which has increased in recent decades.[2] Over time, the award has gone to a more exclusive set of leagues and clubs.[2] Prior to 1995, 10 leagues supplied Ballon d'Or winners, whereas only England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain have supplied winners since 1995.[2] Spain's La Liga has the most Ballon d'Or winners.[2] Barcelona and Real Madrid have supplied the most Ballon d'Or winners since 1995.[2]

In 2020, the Group L'Équipe, to which France Football belongs, decided that no award would be given for the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic cutting short the seasons of football clubs worldwide.[15]

In 2022, France Football modified the rules for the Ballon d'Or. They changed the timing so that awards were given not for achievements during a calendar year, but for a football season.[16] It was also decided that only those countries in the top 100 of the FIFA World Ranking would be allowed to vote. The plebiscite had previously been open to all countries since 2007. This brought the Ballon d'Or into line with the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award.[17]

Winners

Key
     This indicates the Ballon d'Or winning player also won the FIFA World Player of the Year or
The Best FIFA Men's Player award in the same year (available in 1991–2009 and from 2016)
Lionel Messi with seven awards has won the most Ballons d'Or in history.
George Weah was the first non-European and first African national team player to win the award.
Lev Yashin is the only goalkeeper to win the award.
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[note 1] Real Madrid 33
1957 1st Alfredo Di Stéfano[note 2] 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[note 3] 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[note 4] Juventus 46
2nd Luis Suárez[note 5] 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[note 6] 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[note 7] Hamburger SV 71
3rd Michel Platini Nancy 70
1978 1st Kevin Keegan Hamburger SV 87
2nd Hans Krankl[note 8] 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[note 9] 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[note 10] Juventus 39
1983 1st Michel Platini Juventus 110
2nd Kenny Dalglish Liverpool 26
3rd Allan Simonsen[note 11] Vejle BK 25
1984 1st Michel Platini Juventus 110
2nd Jean Tigana Girondins de Bordeaux 57
3rd Preben Elkjær[note 12] 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[note 13] Barcelona 62
3rd Emilio Butragueño Real Madrid 59
1987 1st Ruud Gullit[note 14] Milan 106
2nd Paulo Futre[note 15] Atlético Madrid 91
3rd Emilio Butragueño Real Madrid 61
1988 1st Marco van Basten Milan 129
2nd Ruud Gullit Milan 88
3rd Frank Rijkaard[note 16] 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[note 17] 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 [note 18] Milan 144
2nd Jürgen Klinsmann[note 19] Bayern Munich 108
3rd Jari Litmanen Ajax 67
1996 1st Matthias Sammer Borussia Dortmund 144
2nd Ronaldo[note 20] Barcelona 143
3rd Alan Shearer[note 21] Newcastle United 107
1997 1st Ronaldo [note 22] 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[note 23] Milan 64
2000 1st Luís Figo[note 24] 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 [note 25] 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[note 26] 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 [note 27] 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[note 28] 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[note 29] Paris Saint-Germain 361
2018 1st Luka Modrić Real Madrid 753
2nd Cristiano Ronaldo[note 30] 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[15]
2021 1st Lionel Messi[note 31] 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

Wins by player

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi won the award a combined 12 out of 13 times between 2008 and 2021.
Michel Platini won three years running (1983–85).
Johan Cruyff (left) and Marco van Basten, both of the Netherlands, each won three times.

Note: One-time winners are only included if they have also finished second or third in another year.

Player Winner Second place Third place
Lionel Messi[note 32] 7 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021) 5 (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) 1 (2007)
Cristiano Ronaldo[note 33] 5 (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) 6 (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018) 1 (2019)
Michel Platini 3 (1983, 1984, 1985) 2 (1977, 1980)
Johan Cruyff 3 (1971, 1973, 1974) 1 (1975)
Marco van Basten 3 (1988, 1989, 1992)
Franz Beckenbauer 2 (1972, 1976) 2 (1974, 1975) 1 (1966)
Ronaldo 2 (1997, 2002) 1 (1996) 1 (1998)
Alfredo Di Stéfano 2 (1957, 1959) 1 (1956)
Kevin Keegan 2 (1978, 1979) 1 (1977)
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge 2 (1980, 1981) 1 (1979)
Luis Suárez 1 (1960) 2 (1961, 1964) 1 (1965)
Eusébio 1 (1965) 2 (1962, 1966)
Bobby Charlton 1 (1966) 2 (1967, 1968)
Raymond Kopa 1 (1958) 1 (1959) 2 (1956, 1957)
Gerd Müller 1 (1970) 1 (1972) 2 (1969, 1973)
Zinedine Zidane 1 (1998) 1 (2000) 1 (1997)
Gianni Rivera 1 (1969) 1 (1963)
Ruud Gullit 1 (1987) 1 (1988)
Lothar Matthäus 1 (1990) 1 (1991)
Roberto Baggio 1 (1993) 1 (1994)
Hristo Stoichkov 1 (1994) 1 (1992)
Andriy Shevchenko 1 (2004) 2 (1999, 2000)
George Best 1 (1968) 1 (1971)
Allan Simonsen 1 (1977) 1 (1983)
Ronaldinho 1 (2005) 1 (2004)

Wins by country

Three Ukrainian players have won the Ballon d'Or: Andriy Shevchenko, Oleh Blokhin, and Ihor Belanov.
Marco van Basten (left) and Ruud Gullitt, teammates for AC Milan and the Netherlands, won in consecutive years from 1987 to 1989.
Country Players Wins
 France 5 7
 Germany 5 7
 Netherlands 3 7
 Portugal 3 7
 Argentina 1 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

Wins by club

Club Players Wins
Real Madrid 8 12
Barcelona 6 12
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

An honorary award, under the name Super Ballon d'Or, was awarded to Alfredo Di Stéfano in 1989, after he surpassed Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini in France Football's voting.[20]

A decade later, France Football elected Pelé the Football Player of the Century after consulting their former Ballon d'Or recipients. Among the 34 previous winners, 30 cast their votes, while Stanley Matthews, Omar Sívori and George Best abstained, and Lev Yashin had died. Each voter was allotted five votes worth up to five points; however, Di Stéfano only chose a first place, Platini a first and second place, and George Weah two players for fifth place. Pelé was named the greatest by 17 voters, receiving almost double the number of points earned by the runner-up, Diego Maradona.[21]

Football Player of the Century
Player Pts 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th
Pelé 122175421
Diego Maradona 6536551
Johan Cruyff 6214792
Alfredo Di Stéfano 4443311
Michel Platini 4015136

To coincide with the 60th anniversary of the Ballon d'Or in 2016, France Football published a reevaluation of the awards presented before 1995, when only European players were eligible to win the award. 12 out of the 39 Ballons d'Or presented during this time period would have been awarded to South American players; in addition to Pelé and Diego Maradona, Garrincha, Mario Kempes, and Romário were retrospectively recognized as worthy winners. The original recipients, however, remain unchanged.[22]

Maradona and Pelé also received honorary Ballons d'Ors for their services to football in 1995 and 2013, respectively.[23][24]

Le nouveau palmarès (internationalized reevaluation)
Year Original winner Alternative
1958 Raymond Kopa Pelé
1959 Alfredo Di Stéfano Pelé
1960 Luis Suárez Pelé
1961 Omar Sívori Pelé
1962 Josef Masopust Garrincha
1963 Lev Yashin Pelé
1964 Denis Law Pelé
1970 Gerd Müller Pelé
1978 Kevin Keegan Mario Kempes
1986 Igor Belanov Diego Maradona
1990 Lothar Matthäus Diego Maradona
1994 Hristo Stoichkov Romário

In 1978, France Football published an article about that year's South American Footballer of the Year award in which they hypothesised a match between a South American All-Star Team and a European All-Star team, featuring the players who had performed the best in the award rankings.[25]

Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards

Ronnie Hellström

Marius Trésor
Ruud Krol
Rainer Bonhof
Antonio Cabrini

Willy van de Kerkhof
Arie Haan
Graeme Souness

Kevin Keegan
Hans Krankl
Rob Rensenbrink

Since 2021, France Football has given the "Goalscorer of the Year" award, which was won in its first edition by Robert Lewandowski in recognition of the record-breaking 41 league goals he scored that year.[26] The "Best Club of the Year" award is also given from the same year onward, with Chelsea having been the inaugural winner. Since 2022, an additional award, the "Socrates Trophy", has been given, with Sadio Mané becoming the first recipient. The "Goalscorer of the Year" award was renamed into the "Gerd Müller Trophy" in honour of Gerd Müller the same year.

See also

  • The Best FIFA Football Awards
  • FIFPro World11
  • Ballon d'Or Féminin
  • Gerd Müller Trophy
  • Kopa Trophy
  • Yashin Trophy
  • Socrates Award

Notes

  1. Kopa was signed by Real Madrid from Reims midway through 1956.
  2. Born in Argentina, Di Stéfano acquired Spanish citizenship in 1956 and went on to play for the Spanish national team.
  3. Kopa was signed by Reims from Real Madrid midway through 1959.
  4. Born in Argentina, Sívori acquired Italian citizenship in 1961 and went on to play for the Italian national team.
  5. Luis Suárez was signed by Internazionale from Barcelona midway through 1961.
  6. Cruyff was signed by Barcelona from Ajax midway through 1973.
  7. Keegan was signed by Hamburger SV from Liverpool midway through 1977.
  8. Krankl was signed by Barcelona from Rapid Wien midway through 1978.
  9. Schuster was signed by Barcelona from 1. FC Köln midway through 1980.
  10. Boniek was signed by Juventus from Widzew Łódź midway through 1982.
  11. Simonsen was signed by Vejle BK from Charlton Athletic midway through 1983.
  12. Elkjær was signed by Hellas Verona from Lokeren midway through 1984.
  13. Lineker was signed by Barcelona from Everton midway through 1986.
  14. Gullit was signed by Milan from PSV Eindhoven midway through 1987.
  15. Futre was signed by Atlético Madrid from Porto midway through 1987.
  16. Rijkaard was signed by Milan from Zaragoza midway through 1988.
  17. Bergkamp was signed by Internazionale from Ajax midway through 1993.
  18. Weah was signed by Milan from Paris Saint-Germain midway through 1995.
  19. Klinsmann was signed by Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur midway through 1995.
  20. Ronaldo was signed by Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven midway through 1996.
  21. Shearer was signed by Newcastle United from Blackburn Rovers midway through 1996.
  22. Ronaldo was signed by Internazionale from Barcelona midway through 1997.
  23. Shevchenko was signed by Milan from Dynamo Kyiv midway through 1999.
  24. Figo was signed by Real Madrid from Barcelona midway through 2000.
  25. Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Internazionale midway through 2002.
  26. Deco was signed by Barcelona from Porto midway through 2004.
  27. Cannavaro was signed by Real Madrid from Juventus midway through 2006.
  28. Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Manchester United midway through 2009.
  29. Neymar was signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona midway through 2017.
  30. Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Juventus from Real Madrid midway through 2018.
  31. Messi was signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona midway through 2021.
  32. Messi won four FIFA Ballons d'Or (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) and twice finished in second place (2013, 2014).[18][19]
  33. Cristiano Ronaldo won two FIFA Ballons d'Or (2013, 2014) and thrice finished in second place (2011, 2012, 2015).[18][19]

References

  1. "Ballon d'Or: Players who have received the most nominations". 90min. 15 November 2021. Archived from the original on 29 November 2021. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  2. Straeten, Karine van der; Laslier, Jean-François; Daoust, Jean-François; Blais, André; Arrondel, Luc; Anderson, Christopher J. (2020). "Messi, Ronaldo, and the Politics of Celebrity Elections: Voting for the Best Soccer Player in the World". Perspectives on Politics. 18: 91–110. doi:10.1017/S1537592719002391. ISSN 1537-5927.
  3. "Matthews wins first Golden Ball". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  4. "The 1990s Ballon d'Or winners". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  5. "Kaka wins 2007 award". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  6. "Ronaldo joins legendary list". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  7. "Kaka named world's best player". The Guardian. 17 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  8. "Kaka named European Footballer of the Year". World Soccer. 2 December 2007. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  9. "Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo wants 'to get better' after winning European award". The Telegraph. 2 December 2018. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  10. "FIFA World Player Gala 2008". FIFA.com. 12 January 2009. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  11. "Rankings by Wins". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
  12. "The FIFA Ballon d'Or is born". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 December 2012. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
  13. "How the award came about". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  14. "Kaka: Former Brazil, AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder announces retirement". BBC. 17 December 2017. Archived from the original on 18 June 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  15. "THE BALLON D'OR® WILL NOT BE AWARDED IN 2020". L'Equipe. 20 July 2020. Archived from the original on 20 July 2020. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  16. "Ballon d'Or : Quatre changements pour l'histoire".
  17. "Ballon d'Or : Quatre changements pour l'histoire".
  18. "La liste complête des lauréats du Ballon d'or, de 1956 à nos jours". France Football. Archived from the original on 6 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  19. "FIFA Awards – World Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 12 February 2015. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  20. "On this day, Di Stéfano won the Super Ballon d'Or". RealMadrid.com. 24 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 December 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  21. Stokkermans, Karel (23 December 2015). "France Football's Football Player of the Century". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 30 January 2010. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  22. Marchand, Thierry (December 2015). "On a refait le palmarès". France Football. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  23. "Combien de Ballon(s) d'Or France Football aurait pu remporter Diego Maradona ?". France Football (in French). 29 October 2020. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  24. "Pele receives FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur". FIFA.com. 13 January 2014. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  25. "Best soccer player in America ("El Mundo" of Venezuela)". BigSoccer Forum. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  26. "Ballon d'Or 2021 - Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski wins Goalscorer of the Year award". Eurosport.com. Eurosport. 29 November 2021. Archived from the original on 2 December 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
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