Ballon d’Or Winners List Since 1956 (All Time)
Who is the highest Ballon d’Or winner? Who has the most Ballon d’Or nominations? Also, Who is the youngest player to win the Ballon d’Or? Was Ronaldo nominated for Ballon d’Or? Moreover, Is Ballon d Or expensive? What is bigger than Ballon d’Or? GoalTheBall answers all these asking and provides the Ballon d’Or Winners List for All Time by year, club, and country.
Ballon d’Or History
French magazine “France Football” presents The Ballon d’Or every year since 1956. The award is given to the latest season’s top-performing footballer. Prior to 1995, they branded it as the “European Footballer of the Year” award and only the players from Europe were eligible for this award. From 1995 onwards the authority expanded to include all players from any nationality with only condition to be active in a European club. Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual award in football. The award collaborated with the FIFA World Player of the Year award for 2010-15. During that period, the award rebranded as the “FIFA Ballon d’Or”. Before 2007, only journalists’ votes were used to decide the winners. In 2007, the alluded award became a global prize. In between 2007-15, national team coaches and captains could also vote.
Ballon d’Or Winners List By Year
| Year | Winner | Club | Nationality | Points/Percentage |
| 2024 | TBC | N/A | N/A | TBC |
| 2023 | Lionel Messi (8) | Inter Miami | Argentina | 462 Points |
| 2022 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | France | 549 Points |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi (7) | Paris Saint-Germain | Argentina | 613 Points |
| 2020 | Not Awarded | N/A | N/A | No Voting |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi (6) | FC Barcelona | Argentina | 686 Points |
| 2018 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid | Croatia | 753 Points |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo (5) | Real Madrid | Portugal | 946 Points |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo (4) | Real Madrid | Portugal | 745 Points |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi (5) | FC Barcelona | Argentina | 41.33% Votes |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo (3) | Real Madrid | Portugal | 37.66% Votes |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo (2) | Real Madrid | Portugal | 27.99% Votes |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi (4) | FC Barcelona | Argentina | 41.60% Votes |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi (3) | FC Barcelona | Argentina | 47.88% Votes |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi (2) | FC Barcelona | Argentina | 22.65% Votes |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi (1) | FC Barcelona | Argentina | 473 Points |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo (1) | Man Utd | Portugal | 446 Points |
| 2007 | Kaka | AC Milan | Brazil | 444 Points |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Real Madrid | Italy | 173 Points |
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | FC Barcelona | Brazil | 225 Points |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan | Ukraine | 175 Points |
| 2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Juventus | Czech Republic | 190 Points |
| 2002 | Ronaldo (2) | Real Madrid | Brazil | 169 Points |
| 2001 | Michael Owen | Liverpool | England | 176 Points |
| 2000 | Luis Figo | Real Madrid | Portugal | 197 Points |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | FC Barcelona | Brazil | 219 Points |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | France | 244 Points |
| 1997 | Ronaldo (1) | Inter Milan | Brazil | 222 Points |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Borussia Dortmund | Germany | 144 Points |
| 1995 | George Weah | AC Milan | Liberia | 144 Points |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | FC Barcelona | Bulgaria | 210 Points |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Juventus | Italy | 142 Points |
| 1992 | Marco van Basten (3) | AC Milan | Netherlands | 98 Points |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | France | 141 Points |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Inter Milan | West Germany | 137 Points |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten (2) | AC Milan | Netherlands | 129 Points |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten (1) | AC Milan | Netherlands | 129 Points |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | AC Milan | Netherlands | 106 Points |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Dynamo Kyiv | Soviet Union | 84 Points |
| 1985 | Michel Platini (3) | Juventus | France | 127 Points |
| 1984 | Michel Platini (2) | Juventus | France | 110 Points |
| 1983 | Michel Platini (1) | Juventus | France | 110 Points |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Juventus | Italy | 115 Points |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (2) | Bayern Munich | West Germany | 106 Points |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1) | Bayern Munich | West Germany | 122 Points |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan (2) | Hamburger SV | England | 118 Points |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan (1) | Hamburger SV | England | 87 Points |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Borussia M’Gladbach | Denmark | 74 Points |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer (2) | Bayern Munich | West Germany | 91 Points |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Dynamo Kyiv | Soviet Union | 122 Points |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff (3) | FC Barcelona | Netherlands | 116 Points |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff (2) | FC Barcelona | Netherlands | 96 Points |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer (1) | Bayern Munich | West Germany | 81 Points |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff (1) | Ajax | Netherlands | 116 Points |
| 1970 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich | West Germany | 77 Points |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | AC Milan | Italy | 83 Points |
| 1968 | George Best | Man Utd | Northern Ireland | 61 Points |
| 1967 | Flórián Albert | Ferencvaros | Hungary | 68 Points |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | Man Utd | England | 81 Points |
| 1965 | Eusebio | Benfica | Portugal | 67 Points |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Man Utd | Scotland | 61 Points |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | Dynamo Moscow | Soviet Union | 73 Points |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Dukla Prague | Czechoslovakia | 65 Points |
| 1961 | Omar Sívori | Juventus | Italy | 46 Points |
| 1960 | Luis Suárez Miramontes | FC Barcelona | Spain | 54 Points |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stéfano (2) | Real Madrid | Spain | 80 Points |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | Real Madrid | France | 71 Points |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stéfano (1) | Real Madrid | Spain | 72 Points |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | Blackpool | England | 47 Points |
In fact, Blackpool’s Stanley Matthews is the first-ever player to win this award. Meanwhile, George Weah created history as he became the first-ever African to win the Ballon d’Or in 1995. On the other hand, Brazilian Ronaldo has been the first South American to grab it. In 2023, Inter Miami became the first-ever non-European club to represent a Ballon d’Or winner.
Ballon d’Or Winners List By Country
| Country | No. Of Ballon d’Or | Different Winners |
| Argentina | 8 | 1 |
| France | 7 | 5 |
| Germany | 7 | 5 |
| Netherlands | 7 | 3 |
| Portugal | 7 | 3 |
| Italy | 5 | 5 |
| Brazil | 5 | 4 |
| England | 5 | 4 |
| Soviet Union | 3 | 3 |
| Spain | 3 | 2 |
| Bulgaria | 1 | 1 |
| Croatia | 1 | 1 |
| Czech Republic | 1 | 1 |
| Czechoslovakia | 1 | 1 |
| Denmark | 1 | 1 |
| Hungary | 1 | 1 |
| Liberia | 1 | 1 |
| Northern Ireland | 1 | 1 |
| Scotland | 1 | 1 |
| Ukraine | 1 | 1 |
Ballon d’Or Winners By Club
| Club | No. Of Ballon D’Or | Different Winners |
| Real Madrid | 12 | 8 |
| FC Barcelona | 12 | 6 |
| Juventus | 8 | 6 |
| AC Milan | 8 | 6 |
| Bayern Munich | 5 | 3 |
| Man Utd | 4 | 4 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 2 | 2 |
| Inter Milan | 2 | 2 |
| Hamburger SV | 2 | 1 |
| Ajax | 1 | 1 |
| Benfica | 1 | 1 |
| Blackpool | 1 | 1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 1 | 1 |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | 1 | 1 |
| Dukla Prague | 1 | 1 |
| Dynamo Moscow | 1 | 1 |
| Ferencváros | 1 | 1 |
| Inter Miami | 1 | 1 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 1 |
| Marseille | 1 | 1 |
| PSG | 1 | 1 |
Most Ballon d’Or Winners List Men’s
| Player Name | Number of Wins | Winning Years | Nationality | Club(s) |
| Lionel Messi | 8 | 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023 | Argentina | FC Barcelona (6), PSG (1), Inter Miami (1) |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 5 | 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 | Portugal | Real Madrid (4), Man Utd (1) |
| Michel Platini | 3 | 1983, 1984, 1985 | France | Juventus (3) |
| Johann Cruyff | 3 | 1971, 1973, 1974 | Netherlands | FC Barcelona (2), Ajax (1) |
| Marco Van Basten | 3 | 1988, 1989, 1992 | Netherlands | AC Milan (3) |
| Franz Beckenbauer | 2 | 1972, 1976 | West Germany | Bayern Munich (2) |
| Ronaldo | 2 | 1997, 2002 | Brazil | Inter Milan (1), Real Madrid (1) |
| Alfredo Di Stéfano | 2 | 1957, 1959 | Spain | Real Madrid (2) |
| Kevin Keegan | 2 | 1978, 1979 | England | Hamburger SV (2) |
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | 2 | 1980, 1981 | West Germany | Bayern Munich (2) |
Lionel Messi is the most-time winner in Ballon d’Or history. The Argentine has 8 awards beside his name. As a club, both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have the most number of awards (12 for each). Real represents 8 different winners while Barca presents 6 various claimers. Nationality-wise, Argentina has the most number of awards (8), however, all won by the Great Leo Messi himself. Each of France, Germany, Netherlands, and Portugal offer 7 Ballon d’Or awards. Meanwhile, France, Germany, and Italy represents the highest number of different winners (5).
