For 70 years, the Ballon d’Or has highlighted football’s top individual performers, featuring legends like Stanley Matthews, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lionel Messi.
On Tuesday, UEFA confirmed on its website that the Ballon d’Or has been awarded annually since 1956 and is among the sport’s most esteemed individual honors, recognizing exceptional talent and achievements on the pitch.
UEFA explained that France Football magazine created the award, with Matthews winning the inaugural prize in 1956, establishing a tradition that has become one of the game’s most recognizable honors.
However, the award has evolved over time. Initially, it was limited to European players, excluding legends like Pelé and Maradona during much of their careers.
In 1995, eligibility was expanded to include players of any nationality playing for European clubs.
This change allowed George Weah from Liberia to become the first non-European and African winner that year.
Further expansion occurred in 2007 when the award went global, including players in clubs worldwide.
Between 2010 and 2015, France Football partnered with FIFA, merging the award with the FIFA World Player of the Year, called the FIFA Ballon d’Or, with Messi winning four consecutive times before Ronaldo secured wins in 2013 and 2014.
The partnership ended after 2015, with France Football resuming sole control in 2016, while FIFA continued independently with The Best awards.
In 2018, a women’s award, the Ballon d’Or Féminin, was introduced, with Norway’s Ada Hegerberg as the first recipient.
In 2022, the criteria shifted from calendar-year performance to a season-based assessment.
Since 2024, the ceremony has been jointly organized by UEFA and Groupe Amaury, owner of France Football and L’Équipe.
Nominee selection does not involve fans or national coaches; instead, France Football’s staff and a select group create the shortlist, which is then voted on by international journalists.
Journalists from the top 100 countries in FIFA men’s rankings vote for the men’s award, and those from the top 50 countries vote for the women’s award, ranking their preferred players.
Voting emphasizes individual performance, decisive influence, team achievements, sporting conduct, and fair play. The award considers both trophies and personal impact during the year.
Messi is the most successful male player with eight awards, followed by Ronaldo with five, and Cruyff and Platini with three each. Platini remains the only player to win three consecutive awards (1983-1985). The award was not given in 2020 due to COVID-19.
France Football’s official list shows Ousmane Dembélé as the latest winner in 2025. The 70th ceremony will be in London on October 26, 2026, for the first time in the British capital.
A shortlist of 30 finalists includes Harry Kane, Erling Haaland, Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Yamal, and Dembélé.
Below is the complete history of winners since Matthews in 1956, based on France Football and UEFA archives.
Full list of winners:
- 1956: Stanley Matthews
- 1957: Alfredo Di Stéfano
- 1958: Raymond Kopa
- 1959: Alfredo Di Stéfano
- 1960: Luis Suárez
- 1961: Omar Sívori
- 1962: Josef Masopust
- 1963: Lev Yashin
- 1964: Denis Law
- 1965: Eusébio
- 1966: Bobby Charlton
- 1967: Flórián Albert
- 1968: George Best
- 1969: Gianni Rivera
- 1970: Gerd Müller
- 1971: Johan Cruyff
- 1972: Franz Beckenbauer
- 1973: Johan Cruyff
- 1974: Johan Cruyff
- 1975: Oleh Blokhin
- 1976: Franz Beckenbauer
- 1977: Allan Simonsen
- 1978: Kevin Keegan
- 1979: Kevin Keegan
- 1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
- 1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
- 1982: Paolo Rossi
- 1983: Michel Platini
- 1984: Michel Platini
- 1985: Michel Platini
- 1986: Ihor Belanov
- 1987: Ruud Gullit
- 1988: Marco van Basten
- 1989: Marco van Basten
- 1990: Lothar Matthäus
- 1991: Jean-Pierre Papin
- 1992: Marco van Basten
- 1993: Roberto Baggio
- 1994: Hristo Stoichkov
- 1995: George Weah
- 1996: Matthias Sammer
- 1997: Ronaldo
- 1998: Zinedine Zidane
- 1999: Rivaldo
- 2000: Luís Figo
- 2001: Michael Owen
- 2002: Ronaldo
- 2003: Pavel Nedvěd
- 2004: Andriy Shevchenko
- 2005: Ronaldinho
- 2006: Fabio Cannavaro
- 2007: Kaká
- 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo
- 2009-2012: Lionel Messi
- 2013-2014: Cristiano Ronaldo
- 2015: Lionel Messi
- 2016-2018: Cristiano Ronaldo
- 2019: Lionel Messi
- 2020: No award
- 2021: Lionel Messi
- 2022: Karim Benzema
- 2023: Lionel Messi
- 2024: Rodri
- 2025: Ousmane Dembélé
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