Since its inception in 1956, the Ballon d’Or award has been one of the most prestigious award in the sport of football. From England’s Stanley Matthews in the past to modern-day icons like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, many of football’s greatest players have got this award. For those who are not aware, the Ballon d’Or is an annual award given by the French magazine France Football to honour players who have performed exceptionally well.
Currently, Messi holds the record for the most Ballon d’Or titles, with eight in total—his first in 2009, followed by wins in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and most recently in 2023. Meanwhile, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is not far behind, with five Ballon d’Or awards to his name.
With the 68th annual ceremony of the Ballon d’Or set to take place soon, it will be exciting to see who claims the trophy this year. From Spanish wonderkid Lamine Yamal to Jude Bellingham, many talented nominees are surely looking at this prestigious award. Now, that the Ballon d’Or is the talk of the town, take a look at the full list of Ballon d’Or winners over the years.
Ballon d’Or winners list
| Year | Player | Club | Country |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | Blackpool | England |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | Real Madrid | France |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Real Madrid | Spain |
| 1960 | Luis Suárez Miramontes | Barcelona | Spain |
| 1961 | Omar Sivori | Juventus | Italy |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Dukla Prague | Czechoslovakia |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | Dynamo Moscow | Soviet Union |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Manchester United | Scotland |
| 1965 | Eusébio | Benfica | Portugal |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | Manchester United | England |
| 1967 | Florian Albert | Ferencváros | Hungary |
| 1968 | George Best | Manchester United | Northern Ireland |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | AC Milan | Italy |
| 1970 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff | Ajax | Netherlands |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff | Barcelona | Netherlands |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff | Barcelona | Netherlands |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Dynamo Kyiv | Soviet Union |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Denmark |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburg | England |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburg | England |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Bayern Munich | West Germany |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Juventus | Italy |
| 1983 | Michel Platini | Juventus | France |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | Juventus | France |
| 1985 | Michel Platini | Juventus | France |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Dynamo Kyiv | Soviet Union |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | AC Milan | Netherlands |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan | Netherlands |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan | Netherlands |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Internazionale | Germany |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | France |
| 1992 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan | Netherlands |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Juventus | Italy |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Barcelona | Bulgaria |
| 1995 | George Weah | AC Milan | Liberia |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Borussia Dortmund | Germany |
| 1997 | Ronaldo | Internazionale | Brazil |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | France |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | Barcelona | Brazil |
| 2000 | Luís Figo | Real Madrid | Portugal |
| 2001 | Michael Owen | Liverpool | England |
| 2002 | Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Brazil |
| 2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Juventus | Czech Republic |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | Ukraine |
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | Brazil |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Real Madrid | Italy |
| 2007 | Kaká | Milan | Brazil |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | Portugal |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Portugal |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Portugal |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Portugal |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | Portugal |
| 2018 | Luka Modrić | Real Madrid | Croatia |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| 2020 | Cancelled | – | – |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | Argentina |
| 2022 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | France |
| 2023 | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | Argentina |
Ballon d’Or 2024
The 68th edition of the awards ceremony will take place on Monday, 28 October, at the grand Théâtre du Châtelet, located at Place du Châtelet in Paris. Indian football fans can live stream the award ceremony at 12:30 am IST on October 29.
Men’s Ballon d’Or 2024 Nominees
| Player | Country | Club(s) |
| Jude Bellingham | England | Real Madrid |
| Hakan Çalhanoğlu | Turkey | Inter |
| Dani Carvajal | Spain | Real Madrid |
| Rúben Dias | Portugal | Manchester City |
| Artem Dovbyk | Ukraine | Dnipro / Girona / Roma |
| Phil Foden | England | Manchester City |
| Alejandro Grimaldo | Spain | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Erling Haaland | Norway | Manchester City |
| Mats Hummels | Germany | Borussia Dortmund |
| Harry Kane | England | Bayern Munich |
| Toni Kroos | Germany | Real Madrid |
| Ademola Lookman | Nigeria | Atalanta |
| Emiliano Martínez | Argentina | Aston Villa |
| Lautaro Martínez | Argentina | Inter |
| Kylian Mbappé | France | Paris Saint-Germain / Real Madrid |
| Martin Ødegaard | Norway | Arsenal |
| Dani Olmo | Spain | Leipzig / Barcelona |
| Cole Palmer | England | Manchester City / Chelsea |
| Declan Rice | England | Arsenal |
| Rodri | Spain | Manchester City |
| Antonio Rüdiger | Germany | Real Madrid |
| Bukayo Saka | England | Arsenal |
| William Saliba | France | Arsenal |
| Federico Valverde | Uruguay | Real Madrid |
| Vinícius Júnior | Brazil | Real Madrid |
| Vitinha | Portugal | Paris Saint-Germain |
| Nico Williams | Spain | Athletic Club |
| Florian Wirtz | Germany | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Granit Xhaka | Switzerland | Bayer Leverkusen |
| Lamine Yamal | Spain | Barcelona |
