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Ballon d’Or winners

The Ballon d’Or, which translates to “Golden Ball” in English, is one of the most prestigious individual awards in the world of football. It is presented annually to the best male football player (and female player as of 2018), as voted by a panel of international journalists. The award recognizes exceptional talent, skill, and performance, encapsulating the essence of excellence in the beautiful game.

Ballon d’Or Winners – Full List

YearWinner
1956Stanley Matthews
1957Alfredo Di Stefano
1958Raymond Kopa
1959Alfredo Di Stefano
1960Luis Suarez Miramontes
1961Omar Sivori
1962Josef Masopust
1963Lev Yashin
1964Denis Law
1965Eusebio
1966Bobby Charlton
1967Florian Albert
1968George Best
1969Gianni Rivera
1970Gerd Muller
1971Johan Cruyff
1972Franz Beckenbauer
1973Johan Cruyff
1974Johan Cruyff
1975Oleg Blokhin
1976Franz Beckenbauer
1977Allan Simonsen
1978Kevin Keegan
1979Kevin Keegan
1980Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1981Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
1982Paolo Rossi
1983Michel Platini
1984Michel Platini
1985Michel Platini
1986Igor Belanov
1987Ruud Gullit
1988Marco van Basten
1989Marco van Basten
1990Lothar Matthaus
1991Jean-Pierre Papin
1992Marco van Basten
1993Roberto Baggio
1994Hristo Stoichkov
1995George Weah
1996Matthias Sammer
1997Ronaldo
1998Zinedine Zidane
1999Rivaldo
2000Luis Figo
2001Michael Owen
2002Ronaldo
2003Pavel Nedved
2004Andriy Shevchenko
2005Ronaldinho
2006Fabio Cannavaro
2007Kaka
2008Cristiano Ronaldo
2009Lionel Messi
2010Lionel Messi
2011Lionel Messi
2012Lionel Messi
2013Cristiano Ronaldo
2014Cristiano Ronaldo
2015Lionel Messi
2016Cristiano Ronaldo
2017Cristiano Ronaldo
2018Luka Modric
2019Lionel Messi
2020Canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2021Lionel Messi
2022Karim Benzema
2023Lionel Messi

Ballon d’Or Facts

  • To date, 45 individual players have won the award.
  • Lionel Messi holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or wins, having received the award seven times (as of 2022)
  • The only goalkeeper to win the award is Lev Yashin in 1963.
  • The oldest player to win the Ballon d’Or is Fabio Cannavaro. He received the award in 2006 at the age of 33
  • The youngest player to win the Ballon d’Or is Ronaldo, the Brazilian forward, who won the award in 1997 at the age of 21.

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