Ballon d’Or history: Full list of winners from 1956 to 2025
September 9, 2026 8:10 am
Ballon d’Or
For 70 years, the Ballon d’Or has chronicled football’s greatest individual performers, creating a roll call that stretches from England’s Stanley Matthews and Alfredo Di Stéfano to Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
PUNCH Online reported on Tuesday that according to UEFA on its website, the Ballon d’Or has been awarded annually since 1956 and remains one of football’s most prestigious individual honours, recognising exceptional talent and outstanding achievements on the pitch.
UEFA noted that the award was created by France Football magazine, with Matthews becoming the inaugural winner in 1956 after claiming the first edition of a prize that would eventually become one of the game’s most recognisable individual honours.
The award, however, has not remained unchanged.
France Football initially restricted the Ballon d’Or to European players, meaning several iconic footballers, including Brazil’s Pelé and Argentina’s Diego Maradona, were not eligible during much of their playing careers under the original rules.
The eligibility criteria changed in 1995, allowing players of any nationality playing for European clubs to compete for the award.
This change proved historic as Liberia’s George Weah became the first African and first non-European winner of the Ballon d’Or that year.
Another significant expansion followed in 2007, when the award became global and eligibility was extended beyond players competing for European clubs.
The Ballon d’Or underwent perhaps its biggest branding change between 2010 and 2015, when France Football partnered FIFA and merged the award with the FIFA World Player of the Year prize.
During that six-year period, the award was known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or, with Messi winning four successive editions from 2010 to 2012 before Cristiano Ronaldo claimed the prize in 2013 and 2014.
The partnership ended after the 2015 edition, with France Football resuming control of the Ballon d’Or from 2016, while FIFA subsequently continued with its separate The Best awards.
UEFA further noted that the Ballon d’Or expanded in 2018 with the introduction of the women’s award, the Ballon d’Or Féminin, which recognised the outstanding female footballer of the year. Norway’s Ada Hegerberg became its first winner.
Another major change came in 2022 when organisers moved away from assessing performances over a calendar year and adopted a season-based evaluation period.
Since 2024, UEFA and Groupe Amaury, the owner of France Football and L’Équipe, have co-organised the ceremony, according to UEFA.
Who picks the nominees?
The Ballon d’Or nominees are not selected by football fans or national team coaches.
Under the competition’s regulations, the shortlist is compiled through a process involving France Football’s editorial staff and other members of the award’s selection structure.
The final list is then presented to journalists responsible for voting on the award.
Who votes?
Unlike some other major individual football awards, the Ballon d’Or is decided by journalists.
The men’s award is voted for by one specialist journalist from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s world ranking, while the women’s award involves journalists representing the top 50 countries in the FIFA women’s ranking.
The jurors rank their preferred candidates, with points allocated according to each player’s position on the ballot.
What do voters consider?
The voting criteria place individual performance and a player’s decisive influence at the heart of the assessment.
Collective achievements and trophies also form part of the consideration, alongside sporting conduct and fair play.
The system means the Ballon d’Or is not determined solely by the number of trophies won, with individual performances and a player’s impact during the assessment period also carrying significant weight.
Messi leads the roll of honour
According to Ballon d’Or records published by France Football and UEFA, Messi remains the most successful player in the history of the men’s award with eight victories.
Cristiano Ronaldo follows with five, while Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini won the trophy three times each.
UEFA’s records also show that Platini remains the only player to win the award in three consecutive years, claiming the prize in 1983, 1984 and 1985.
The award was not presented in 2020 because of the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
France Football’s official honours list identifies Paris Saint-Germain and France forward Ousmane Dembélé as the most recent winner, having claimed the 2025 award.
The 2026 edition, the 70th in the history of the award, will be held in London on October 26, marking the first time the ceremony will take place in the British capital. France Football on Tuesday announced a 30-man shortlist for the men’s Ballon d’Or, with Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal and defending champion Dembélé among the nominees.
Below is the complete list of men’s Ballon d’Or winners since Matthews won the inaugural award in 1956, according to France Football’s official records and UEFA’s historical archive.
Full list of Ballon d’Or winners
1956: Stanley Matthews (England, Blackpool)
1957: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Spain, Real Madrid)
1958: Raymond Kopa (France, Real Madrid)
1959: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Spain, Real Madrid)
1960: Luis Suárez (Spain, Barcelona)
1961: Omar Sívori (Italy, Juventus)
1962: Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia, Dukla Praha)
1963: Lev Yashin (Soviet Union, Dynamo Moscow)
1964: Denis Law (Scotland, Manchester United)
1965: Eusébio (Portugal, Benfica)
1966: Bobby Charlton (England, Manchester United)
1967: Flórián Albert (Hungary, Ferencváros)
1968: George Best (Northern Ireland, Manchester United)
1969: Gianni Rivera (Italy, AC Milan)
1970: Gerd Müller (West Germany, Bayern Munich)
1971: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands, Ajax)
1972: Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany, Bayern Munich)
1973: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands, Barcelona)
1974: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands, Barcelona)
1975: Oleh Blokhin (Soviet Union, Dynamo Kyiv)
1976: Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany, Bayern Munich)
1977: Allan Simonsen (Denmark, Borussia Mönchengladbach)
1978: Kevin Keegan (England, Hamburg)
1979: Kevin Keegan (England, Hamburg)
1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany, Bayern Munich)
1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany, Bayern Munich)
1982: Paolo Rossi (Italy, Juventus)
1983: Michel Platini (France, Juventus)
1984: Michel Platini (France, Juventus)
1985: Michel Platini (France, Juventus)
1986: Ihor Belanov (Soviet Union, Dynamo Kyiv)
1987: Ruud Gullit (Netherlands, AC Milan)
1988: Marco van Basten (Netherlands, AC Milan)
1989: Marco van Basten (Netherlands, AC Milan)
1990: Lothar Matthäus (West Germany, Inter Milan)
1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (France, Marseille)
1992: Marco van Basten (Netherlands, AC Milan)
1993: Roberto Baggio (Italy, Juventus)
1994: Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria, Barcelona)
1995: George Weah (Liberia, AC Milan)
1996: Matthias Sammer (Germany, Borussia Dortmund)
1997: Ronaldo (Brazil, Inter Milan)
1998: Zinedine Zidane (France, Juventus)
1999: Rivaldo (Brazil, Barcelona)
2000: Luís Figo (Portugal, Real Madrid)
2001: Michael Owen (England, Liverpool)
2002: Ronaldo (Brazil, Real Madrid)
2003: Pavel Nedvěd (Czech Republic, Juventus)
2004: Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine, AC Milan)
2005: Ronaldinho (Brazil, Barcelona)
2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy, Real Madrid)
2007: Kaká (Brazil, AC Milan)
2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United)
2009: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
2010: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
2011: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
2012: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
2013: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)
2014: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)
2015: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)
2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Real Madrid)
2018: Luka Modrić (Croatia, Real Madrid)
2019: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona)
2020: No award due to COVID 19 pandemic
2021: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Paris Saint-Germain)
2022: Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid)
2023: Lionel Messi (Argentina, Inter Miami)
2024: Rodri (Spain, Manchester City)
2025: Ousmane Dembélé (France, Paris Saint-Germain)
Sources: France Football Ballon d’Or records and UEFA historical archive.
Tosin Oyediran is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over eight years of professional experience in reporting and storytelling. He is known for conducting incisive interviews and producing compelling human-angle stories that bring clarity and depth to the news. Tosin covers a broad range of beats including politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment, with a strong focus on people-centred reporting. His work reflects firsthand newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a commitment to accurate, engaging, and trustworthy journalism.
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