List of the Ballon d'Or Winners (2024)

FAQs

Who has more Ballon d'Or, Messi or Ronaldo? ›

Lionel Messi has won the most Ballons d'Or in history, with eight wins in three different decades. He is also the record holder for most consecutive wins, with four between 2009 and 2012. Cristiano Ronaldo has been nominated for the Ballon d'Or a record eighteen times, and is a five-time winner.

Messi currently holds the record for most Ballon d'Ors with eight (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023), while five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo has the most nominations with 18.

Lionel Messi is the most decorated player in the history of the Ballon d'Or award, with eight titles. Cristiano Ronaldo is behind him in second, having won it five times, while Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten each won it three times.

The Super Ballon d'Or, awarded in 1989, is the most prestigious accolade a footballer can achieve, with only one winner so far.

Messi is less consistent than Ronaldo. After Messi scored his historic 91 goals in a year, he then scored only half of those goals per year. If we make a graph of his total goals, the line would look more like a heartbeat! Ronaldo, however, consistently scored more than 50 goals for seven calendar years!

Who has won the Super Ballon d'Or? So far, only one award has been handed out when former Real Madrid forward Alfredo di Stefano won the Super Ballon d'Or in December 1989.

Ballon d'Or 2023 official rankings: Lionel Messi beats Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to claim eighth Golden Ball. The Ballon d'Or.

Numerous legendary players over the years have scooped up the trophy, including Lionel Messi, who has won it eight times, and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won it five times. Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, Franz Beckenbauer and George Best have all also got their hands on the reputable award.

Diego Maradona never won the Ballon d'Or as only players of European nationality were eligible to win the award during the large majority of his career. However, he did receive an honourary award in 1995 that was named the Golden Ballon d'Or.

The 1997 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Ronaldo on 23 December 1997. The Brazilian became the youngest winner of the award, at 21 years old.

Who has the most female Ballon d'Or? ›

Winners. Alexia Putellas, is the only player to have ever won the Ballon d'Or Féminin twice and in consecutive years. Ada Hegerberg, the first winner of the award.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, Weah was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or, becoming the first and only player to win these awards while representing an African country internationally.

Is the Ballon d'Or made of pure gold? The Ballon d'Or trophy is not entirely made up of gold. It is first shaped from a wax-like material, while the surface of the ball is covered with five kilograms of 18-carat gold.