Ballon D’Or Winners List
The Ballon d’Or is a prestigious football award given to the best footballer each year since 1956. The current Ballon d’Or holder is Lionel Messi (2023), an eight-time winner.
Aside from a six-year merger with FIFA between 2009 and 2015, the Ballon d’Or has been a separate award given out by France Football. The Ballon d’Or winners list features the best footballers of every generation since it’s inception.
Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or award eight times while Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award five times, with the duo sharing all 10 awards between 2008 and 2017.
Messi is the only player to win the award four consecutive seasons, ahead of Michel Platini’s hat-trick of awards in 1983-85. He has also continued to win the award late into his thirties, winning it three times in the last five seasons.
In 2020, the Ballon d’Or was not awarded to anyone, and in 2022, it was the first time since 2007 that neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo made it to the top three list for the award.
Men’s Ballon d’Or Winners List
year | player | Nationality | club |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Paris Saint-Germain/Inter Miami |
2022 | Karim Benzema | France | Real Madrid |
2021 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona/Paris Saint-Germain |
2020 | not awarded | ||
2019 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
2018 | Luka Modric | Croatia | Real Madrid |
2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
2015 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
2012 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
2011 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
2010 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
2009 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Manchester United |
2007 | Kaká | Brazil | AC Milan |
2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Italy | Real Madrid |
2005 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Barcelona |
2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | AC Milan |
2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Czech Republic | Juventus |
2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Real Madrid |
2001 | Michael Owen | England | Liverpool |
2000 | Luís Figo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
1999 | Rivaldo | Brazil | Barcelona |
1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France | Juventus |
1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Inter Milan |
1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany | Borussia Dortmund |
1995 | George Weah | Liberia | AC Milan |
1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria | Barcelona |
1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy | Juventus |
1992 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | AC Milan |
1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France | Marseille |
1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Germany | Inter Milan |
1989 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
1988 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | Milan |
1987 | Ruud Gullit | Netherlands | Milan |
1986 | Igor Belanov | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kiev |
1985 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
1984 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
1983 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | Juventus |
1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
1979 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
1978 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
1977 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark | Borussia Monchengladbach |
1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kiev |
1974 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
1973 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
1971 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Ajax |
1970 | Gerd Müller | West Germany | Bayern Munich |
1969 | Gianni Rivera | Italy | AC Milan |
1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland | Manchester United |
1967 | Flórián Albert | Hungary | Ferencvaros |
1966 | Bobby Charlton | England | Manchester United |
1965 | Eusébio | Portugal | Benfica |
1964 | Denis Law | Scotland | Manchester United |
1963 | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Moscow |
1962 | Josef Masopust | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Prague |
1961 | Omar Sívori | Italy | Juventus |
1960 | Luis Suárez | Spain | Barcelona |
1959 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain | Real Madrid |
1958 | Raymond Kopa | France | Real Madrid |
1957 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain | Real Madrid |
1956 | Stanley Matthews | England | Blackpool |
Women’s Ballon d’Or (Ballon d’Or Féminin) Winners List
year | player | Nationality | club |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | Alexia Putellas | Spain | Barcelona |
2020 | not awarded | ||
2019 | Megan Rapinoe | USA | Reign FC |
2018 | Ada Hegerberg | Norway | Olympique Lyonnais |

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