Ballon d'Or

Ballon d'Or
Ballon d'Or
	Ballon d'Or trophy
Date	1956; 65 years ago
Country	France
Presented by	France Football
First awarded	1956
Current holder	Lionel Messi; (6th award)
Most awards	Lionel Messi; (6 awards)
Most nominations	Lionel Messi; Cristiano Ronaldo; (12 times each)
Website	francefootball.fr
	← 2019; Ballon d'Or; →;

The Ballon d'Or (French pronunciation: [balɔ̃ dɔʁ] (listen); "Golden Ball") is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football that is one of the oldest and generally regarded as the most prestigious individual award for football players.^[1] It has been awarded since 1956, although between 2010 and 2015, an agreement was made with FIFA, and the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (founded in 1991) and known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or. However, the 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.

Conceived by sports writer Gabriel Hanot, 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 an award only for 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 Blackpool 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] Milan'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 Internazionale 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 six times while playing for Barcelona, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won five (one with Manchester United and four with Real Madrid). Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff of Ajax and Barcelona, Michel Platini of Juventus, and Marco van Basten of Milan. With seven awards each, Dutch, German, and Portuguese 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 and eleven 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, 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]

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 six awards has won the most Ballons d'Or in history.

George Weah was the first non-European, and first African, 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
	3rd	Raymond Kopa	Real Madrid	16

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	Luigi Riva	Cagliari	79
	3rd	Gerd Müller	Bayern Munich	38

1970	1st	Gerd Müller	Bayern Munich	77
	2nd	Bobby Moore	West Ham United	70
	3rd	Luigi 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
	2nd	Günter Netzer	Borussia Mönchengladbach	79

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	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	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	Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[15]

Wins by player

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 31]}	6 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019)	5 (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)	1 (2007)
Cristiano Ronaldo^{[note 32]}	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

Country	Players	Wins
Germany	5	7
Netherlands	3	7
Portugal	3	7
France	4	6
Argentina	1	6
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

Three Ukrainian former Dynamo Kyiv players have won the Ballon d'Or: Andriy Shevchenko, Oleh Blokhin, and Ihor Belanov.

Club	Players	Wins
Barcelona	6	12
Real Madrid	7	11
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

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.^[18]

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; 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.^[19]

Football Player of the Century
Player	Pts	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Pelé	122	17	5	4	2	1
Diego Maradona	65	3	6	5	5	1
Johan Cruyff	62	1	4	7	9	2
Alfredo Di Stéfano	44	4	3	3	1	1
Michel Platini	40	1	5	1	3	6

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.^[20]

Maradona and Pelé also received honorary Ballons d'Ors for their services to football in 1995 and 2013, respectively.^[21]^[22]

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

Ballon d'Or Dream Team

Notes

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

References

^ "Tradition helps the high standing of the Ballon d'Or". AS. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g 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.
^ "Matthews wins first Golden Ball". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "The 1990s Ballon d'Or winners". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
^ "Kaka wins 2007 award". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
^ "Ronaldo joins legendary list". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
^ "Kaka named world's best player". The Guardian. 17 December 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^ "Kaka named European Footballer of the Year". World Soccer. 2 December 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^ "Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo wants 'to get better' after winning European award". The Telegraph. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^ "FIFA World Player Gala 2008". FIFA.com. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
^ "Rankings by Wins". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.
^ "The FIFA Ballon d'Or is born". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2012.
^ "How the award came about". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
^ "Kaka: Former Brazil, AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder announces retirement". BBC. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "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.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "La liste complête des lauréats du Ballon d'or, de 1956 à nos jours". France Football. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "FIFA Awards – World Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
^ "On this day, Di Stéfano won the Super Ballon d'Or". RealMadrid.com. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
^ 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.
^ Marchand, Thierry (December 2015). "On a refait le palmarès". France Football. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
^ "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.
^ "Pele receives FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur". FIFA.com. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

External links

"European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
"La liste complête des lauréats du Ballon d'or, de 1956 à nos jours". France Football. Retrieved 24 March 2015.

[16] Kopa was signed by Real Madrid from Reims midway through 1956.

[17] Born in Argentina, Di Stéfano acquired Spanish citizenship in 1956 and went on to play for the Spanish national team.

[18] Kopa was signed by Reims from Real Madrid midway through 1959.

[19] Born in Argentina, Sívori acquired Italian citizenship in 1961 and went on to play for the Italian national team.

[20] Luis Suárez was signed by Internazionale from Barcelona midway through 1961.

[21] Cruyff was signed by Barcelona from Ajax midway through 1973.

[22] Keegan was signed by Hamburger SV from Liverpool midway through 1977.

[23] Krankl was signed by Barcelona from Rapid Wien midway through 1978.

[24] Schuster was signed by Barcelona from 1. FC Köln midway through 1980.

[25] Boniek was signed by Juventus from Widzew Łódź midway through 1982.

[26] Simonsen was signed by Vejle BK from Charlton Athletic midway through 1983.

[27] Elkjær was signed by Hellas Verona from Lokeren midway through 1984.

[28] Lineker was signed by Barcelona from Everton midway through 1986.

[29] Gullit was signed by Milan from PSV Eindhoven midway through 1987.

[30] Futre was signed by Atlético Madrid from Porto midway through 1987.

[31] Rijkaard was signed by Milan from Zaragoza midway through 1988.

[32] Bergkamp was signed by Internazionale from Ajax midway through 1993.

[33] Weah was signed by Milan from Paris Saint-Germain midway through 1995.

[34] Klinsmann was signed by Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur midway through 1995.

[35] Ronaldo was signed by Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven midway through 1996.

[36] Shearer was signed by Newcastle United from Blackburn Rovers midway through 1996.

[37] Ronaldo was signed by Internazionale from Barcelona midway through 1997.

[38] Shevchenko was signed by Milan from Dynamo Kyiv midway through 1999.

[39] Figo was signed by Real Madrid from Barcelona midway through 2000.

[40] Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Internazionale midway through 2002.

[41] Deco was signed by Barcelona from Porto midway through 2004.

[42] Cannavaro was signed by Real Madrid from Juventus midway through 2006.

[43] Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Manchester United midway through 2009.

[44] Neymar was signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona midway through 2017.

[45] Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Juventus from Real Madrid midway through 2018.

[48] Messi won four FIFA Ballons d'Or (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) and twice finished in second place (2013, 2014).^[16]^[17]

[49] Cristiano Ronaldo won two FIFA Ballons d'Or (2013, 2014) and thrice finished in second place (2011, 2012, 2015).^[16]^[17]

[1] "Tradition helps the high standing of the Ballon d'Or". AS. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

[:0-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g 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.

[Auto02-1-3] "Matthews wins first Golden Ball". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.

[Nineties-4] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "The 1990s Ballon d'Or winners". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.

[Auto02-2-5] "Kaka wins 2007 award". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.

[one-6] "Ronaldo joins legendary list". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.

[7] "Kaka named world's best player". The Guardian. 17 December 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

[8] "Kaka named European Footballer of the Year". World Soccer. 2 December 2007. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

[9] "Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo wants 'to get better' after winning European award". The Telegraph. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

[10] "FIFA World Player Gala 2008". FIFA.com. 12 January 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2020.

[Auto02-3-11] "Rankings by Wins". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 9 October 2008. Retrieved 4 December 2008.

[Auto02-5-12] "The FIFA Ballon d'Or is born". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 4 December 2012.

[Auto02-6-13] "How the award came about". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 9 August 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2011.

[14] "Kaka: Former Brazil, AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder announces retirement". BBC. 17 December 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2018.

[Not2020-15] Jump up to: ^a ^b "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.

[FF.com-46] Jump up to: ^a ^b "La liste complête des lauréats du Ballon d'or, de 1956 à nos jours". France Football. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

[RSSSF.com-47] Jump up to: ^a ^b "FIFA Awards – World Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

[50] "On this day, Di Stéfano won the Super Ballon d'Or". RealMadrid.com. 24 December 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2016.

[51] 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.

[52] Marchand, Thierry (December 2015). "On a refait le palmarès". France Football. Retrieved 13 January 2016.

[53] "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.

[54] "Pele receives FIFA Ballon d'Or Prix d'Honneur". FIFA.com. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

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hide v t Ballon d'Or
France Football magazine award
Ballon d'Or (1956–2009)	1956: Matthews 1957: Di Stéfano 1958: Kopa 1959: Di Stéfano 1960: Suárez 1961: Sívori 1962: Masopust 1963: Yashin 1964: Law 1965: Eusébio 1966: Charlton 1967: Albert 1968: Best 1969: Rivera 1970: Müller 1971: Cruyff 1972: Beckenbauer 1973: Cruyff 1974: Cruyff 1975: Blokhin 1976: Beckenbauer 1977: Simonsen 1978: Keegan 1979: Keegan 1980: Rummenigge 1981: Rummenigge 1982: Rossi 1983: Platini 1984: Platini 1985: Platini 1986: Belanov 1987: Gullit 1988: Van Basten 1989: Van Basten 1990: Matthäus 1991: Papin 1992: Van Basten 1993: Baggio 1994: Stoichkov 1995: Weah 1996: Sammer 1997: Ronaldo 1998: Zidane 1999: Rivaldo 2000: Figo 2001: Owen 2002: Ronaldo 2003: Nedvěd 2004: Shevchenko 2005: Ronaldinho 2006: Cannavaro 2007: Kaká 2008: C. Ronaldo 2009: Messi
FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015)	2010: Messi 2011: Messi 2012: Messi 2013: C. Ronaldo 2014: C. Ronaldo 2015: Messi
Ballon d'Or (2016–present)	2016: C. Ronaldo 2017: C. Ronaldo 2018: Modrić 2019: Messi 2020: not awarded :
FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009) FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015) The Best FIFA Men's Player (2016–present) Ballon d'Or Féminin (2018–present) Yashin Trophy (2019–present)