Ballon d’Or is an award given by France Football, a weekly football magazine. It is being distributed since 1956 to this date.
In the year 2010, Ballon d’Or was merged with FIFA player of the year and they combined and called as FIFA Ballon d’Or. Agreement between both parties ended in 2016 and FIFA began to give different award known as The Best FIFA football awards. Ballon d’Or is considered to be one of the best Football awards in the world.
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History of Ballon d’Or
Ballon d’Or awards were started in 1956 only to honor European players. In 1995, It was expanded and includes all the players from the world who played in European clubs. However, in 2007, the award was extended and now includes all the players irrespective to any league.
Facts about Ballon d’Or
Stanley Matthews was the first player to win the award. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only players in the history to won Ballon d’Or award five times each. George Weah was the only African player to win the award. Kaka was the last player to win this award before the era of Messi and Ronaldo begin.
Winners of Ballon d’Or
Below is the list of all the players who won this award.
Year |
Player |
Nationality |
Club |
| 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 |
Milan |
|
2006 |
Fabio Cannavaro |
Italy |
Real Madrid |
|
2005 |
Ronaldinho |
Brazil |
Barcelona |
|
2004 |
Andriy Shevchenko |
Ukraine |
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 |
Internazionale |
|
1996 |
Matthias Sammer |
Germany |
Borussia Dortmund |
|
1995 |
George Weah |
Liberia |
Milan |
|
1994 |
Hristo Stoichkov |
Bulgaria |
Barcelona |
|
1993 |
Roberto Baggio |
Italy |
Juventus |
|
1992 |
Marco van Basten |
Netherlands |
Milan |
|
1991 |
Jean-Pierre Papin |
France |
Marseille |
|
1990 |
Lothar Matthäus |
Germany |
Internazionale |
|
1989 |
Marco van Basten |
Netherlands |
Milan |
|
1988 |
Marco van Basten |
Netherlands |
Milan |
|
1987 |
Ruud Gullit |
Netherlands |
Milan |
|
1986 |
Igor Belanov |
Soviet Union |
Dynamo Kyiv |
|
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 M”nchengladbach |
|
1976 |
Franz Beckenbauer |
West Germany |
Bayern Munich |
|
1975 |
Oleg Blokhin |
Soviet Union |
Dynamo Kyiv |
|
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 |
Milan |
|
1968 |
George Best |
Northern Ireland |
Manchester United |
|
1967 |
Flórián Albert |
Hungary |
Ferencvarosi TC |
|
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 |
