Facts

In 2006, Fabio Cannavaro became the first Ballon d’Or winning defender in a decade. Typically, defensive players are largely absent from the Ballon d’Or history books which begin way back in 1956. In fact, from its inception, it would take a full 16 years for Franz Beckenbauer to be named first defender to win the … Read more

In 2008, Cristiano Ronaldo won his first-ever Ballon d’Or. It would mark the beginning of a 10-year dominance between himself and Lionel Messi for the award which eventually led to an intense professional rivalry that drove them both to the very summit of the European game. Ronaldo’s 2008 will be remembered as the year his … Read more

At the close of 2009, Lionel Messi won his first-ever Ballon d’Or award. His victory was emphatic. At the time his triumph was by a record margin as he finished 240 points ahead of 2008 winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi also became the first Argentine-born player to win the accolade since Omar Sívori in 1961. But … Read more

Lionel Messi’s 2011 Ballon d’Or win was his third in a row. The Argentine equalled Johan Cruyff’s three wins (1971, 1973, 1974) and drew level with Michel Platini’s trio of consecutive successes between 1983 and 1985. Year after year he had grown increasingly central to Pep Guardiola and his now legendary Barcelona side. With this … Read more

Lionel Messi’s fourth Ballon d’Or success in a row was in itself groundbreaking. The Argentine eclipsed Johan Cruyff’s trio of wins (1971, 1973, 1974) and Michel Platini’s three consecutive triumphs from 1983 to 1985. His year as a whole was packed with numerous records and achievements. The 2011/12 campaign not only elevated his game to … Read more

The 2013 Ballon d’Or award was won by Cristiano Ronaldo but the ceremony itself will go down in infamy as many people believed the award should have gone to French winger Frank Ribery. Join us as we discuss how Ronaldo won the coveted prize and ponder as to whether Ribery and indeed Lionel Messi could … Read more

There have been just three English winners of the Ballon d’Or award. Read more about them below. Contentsshow 1Sir Stanley Matthews (1956) 2Kevin Keegan (1978 and 1979) 3Michael Owen (2001) Sir Stanley Matthews (1956) Sir Stanley Matthews was the first ever winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1956. One of England’s greatest footballers, Matthews redefined … Read more

George Weah’s 1995 Ballon d’Or win was more than just a story of individual triumph. It represented a change for the award itself and the global game as a whole. The accolade became subject to the biggest and most significant format tweak in its history – a rule change that most fans of the sport … Read more