Full list of Ballon d’Or winners: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and all 1956 Ballon d’Or winners.

The Ballon d’Or is considered the most prestigious individual award in football.

Golden Ball has celebrated the world’s best for 68 years, but has taken on a new level of importance in the 21st century.

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France Football’s top prize has become synonymous with the epic rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo that defined the 2010s.

Messi has won a record eight Ballons d’Or, including last year’s award after winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022.

RonaldoIn the meantime, he has won five Ballons d’Or, most recently in 2017, and no one other than the Argentine has beaten him in the race since he first won it in 2008.

However, no superstars were nominated in 2024With Rhodri fighting with Vinicius Junior for the last crown.

Golden Ballwhich started in 1956, was originally voted on by football journalists to recognize the best of the calendar year.

Players from countries FIFASince 2007, the top 100 companies have also been given voting rights, which has given them an edge over individual awards as they are voted on by their fellow professionals.

In 2022, the Ballon d’Or underwent another modernization, with the criteria being based on the results of the European season.

Why did Pele and Diego Maradona never win the Ballon d’Or?

Two football icons top the list of players who have never won the Ballon d’Or but their neglect comes with a caveat.

Before the policy change in 1995, the Ballon d’Or was only open to European players plying their trade in Europe.

Pele had long since hung up his boots, and Maradona’s best years were also behind him by then, and he retired two years later.

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Hosts France Football later said three-time World Cup winner Pelé would have had seven titles to his name had he been eligible.

This would make the legendary forward the all-time record holder until Messi wins his seventh title in 2021.

According to Ballon d’Or, Pelé could have won 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1970.

This would have denied the opportunity to the only Scottish player in history to win the award. Manchester United Denis Law’s badge in 1964.

Meanwhile, in 1995, the year of the policy change, Maradona received an honorary award called the Ballon d’Or.

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List of Ballon d’Or winners

1950s

• 1956 Stanley Matthews – England Blackpool
• 1957 Alfredo Di Stefano – Argentina/Spain Real Madrid
• 1958 Raymond Kopa – France Real Madrid
• 1959 Alfredo Di Stefano – Argentina/Spain Real Madrid

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1960s

• 1960 Luis Suarez – Spain Barcelona
• 1961 Omar Sivori – Italy Juventus
• 1962 Joseph Masopust – Czechoslovakia Dukla Prague
• 1963 Lev Yashin – Soviet Union Dynamo Moscow
• 1964 Denis Law – Scotland Manchester United
• 1965 Eusebio – Portugal Benfica
• 1966 Bobby Charlton – England Manchester United
• 1967 Florian Albert – Hungary Ferencvaros
• 1968 George Best – Northern Ireland Manchester United
• 1969 Gianni Rivera – Italy Milan

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1970s

• 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 Oleg Blokhin – Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv
• 1976 Franz Beckenbauer – West Germany Bayern Munich
• 1977 Allan Simonsen – Denmark Borussia Monchengladbach
• 1978 Kevin Keegan – England Hamburger SV
• 1979 Kevin Keegan – England Hamburger SV

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1980s

• 1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – West Germany Bayern Munich
• 1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – West Germany Bayern Munich
• 1982 Paolo Rossi – Italy Juventus
• 1983 Michelle Platini – France Juventus
• 1984 Michelle Platini – France Juventus
• 1985 Michelle Platini – France Juventus
• 1986 Igor Belanov – Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv
• 1987 Ruud Gullit – Netherlands Milan
• 1988 Marco van Basten – Netherlands Milan
• 1989 Marco van Basten – Netherlands Inter Milan

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1990s

• 1990 Lothar Matthäus – Germany Inter Milan
• 1991 Jean-Pierre Papin – France Marseille
• 1992 Marco van Basten – Netherlands Inter Milan
• 1993 Roberto Baggio – Italy Juventus
• 1994 Hristo Stoichkov – Bulgaria Barcelona
• 1995 George Weah – Liberia Milan
• 1996 Matthias Summer – Germany Borussia Dortmund
• 1997 Ronaldo – Brazil Inter Milan
• 1998 Zinedine Zidane – France Juventus
• 1999 Rivaldo – Brazil Barcelona

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2000s

• 2000 Luis Figo – Portugal Real Madrid
• 2001 Michael Owen – England Liverpool
• 2002 Ronaldo – Brazil Real Madrid
• 2003 Pavel Nedved – Czech Republic Juventus
• 2004 Andrey Shevchenko – Ukraine Milan
• 2005 Ronaldinho – Brazil Barcelona
• 2006 Fabio Cannavaro – Italy Real Madrid
• 2007 Kaka – Brazil Milan
• 2008 Cristiano Ronaldo – Portugal Manchester United
• 2009 Lionel Messi – Argentina Barcelona

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2010s

• 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 Modric – Croatia Real Madrid
• 2019 Lionel Messi – Argentina Barcelona

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2020s-

• 2020 Not awarded ——
• 2021 Lionel Messi – Argentina Paris-Saint-Germain
• 2022 Karim Benzema – France Real Madrid
• 2023 Lionel Messi – Argentina Inter Miami