Ballon d’Or Winner
The Ballon d’Or award is a yearly football award for the finest player over the previous year. It was first awarded in 1956. The most current Ballon d’Or winner was Real Madrid’s Karim Benzemais in 2022. Messi has won the men’s Ballon d’Or award a record 7 times, and Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award 5 times.
The 30 contenders for the 2022 Ballon d’Or award were declared in August. 7 times winner Lionel Messi was not on the list (for the first time since 2005), though Ronaldo did complete the cut. The ceremony revealing the winners was held on October 17 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. The winner was favourite Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.
Benzema got the big golden ball aloft after a superb season in which he won a La Liga and Champions League double with Real Madrid and the UEFA Nations League with France.
List of Men’s Ballon d’Or Winner
The Ballon d’Or Winner list is as follows:
| year | player | Nationality | club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Karim Benzemais | France | Real Madrid |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Paris Saint-Germain F.C. |
| 2020 | not awarded | ||
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | Barcelona |
| 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 | Ukrain | Milan |
| 2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Czechia | 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 | Ferencv rosi 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 |
Ballon d’Or Awards List
There were a total of seven awards that were handed out on Monday at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris for the 66th edition of the Ballon d’Or.
It was the first time that the Socrates Award was handed out. The Gerd Muller Trophy and Club of the Year were awarded for the first time in 2021.
- Men’s Ballon d’Or (Player of the Year): Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
- Women’s Ballon d’Or (Player of the Year): Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
- Kopa Trophy (Best U-21 men’s player): Gavi (Barcelona)
- Yashin Trophy (Best men’s GK): Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Gerd Muller Trophy (Top scorer): Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
- Socrates Award (for player acts of solidarity): Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich)
- Club of the Year (a club with the most Ballon d’Or nominees): Manchester City
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