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Ballon d'Or History

The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by France Football to the best male and female players in the world, recognizing individual excellence over the previous season. Established in 1956 for men and in 2018 for women, it is one of the sport's most prestigious honors.

Johan Cruyff being presented with one of his three Ballon d'Or awards

Up until 1995, the award was often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award as it was only open to European players at European clubs. The eligibility rules were changed in 1995 to allow non-European players to be eligible for the prize if they played for a European club. Then in 2007, any player in the world became eligible.

The Ballon d'Or is set to change in 2024. European football's governing body, UEFA, announced it will co-organize the event with French media company Groupe Amaury. New awards for the men's and women's coach of the year will also be introduced from 2024.

Between 2009 and 2015 the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA Player of the Year awards were merged to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or. In 2016, France Football announced that their partnership with FIFA had come to an end and that they would revive the Ballon d'Or award, the 2016 edition became the 61st award.

The women's Ballon d'Or award, called called the Ballon d'Or Féminin, was first presented in 2018.

2020 Ballon d'Or

Due to the disruption to world sport in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, there was no award given in 2020.

2021 Ballon d'Or

The winner in 2021 was Lionel Messi in 2021. He won the men's Ballon d'Or award for a record seventh time (Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award five times). In 2021, it was the first time two more awards were given, the Best Club and Best Striker of the Year.

2022 Ballon d'Or

The 30 nominees for the 2022 award were announced in August. Seven-time winner Lionel Messi was not on the list. The winner was the favorite from Real Madrid, Karim Benzema. Benzema became only the fifth Frenchman to do so, and at 34 years old was the oldest winner since Stanley Matthews in 1956. Socrates Award which acknowledges the humanitarian work by a champion footballer was first presented in 2022.

2023 Ballon d'Or

The 2023 Ballon d'Or saw Lionel Messi win his record-extending eighth title, solidifying his status as one of football's greatest. Messi’s victory was largely attributed to his key role in leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022, where he was named the tournament’s best player.