In this post, Townflex.com brings to you the complete list of winners of the Ballon d’Or awards since it started way back in 1956 to the present day, 2025.
Ballon d’Or award honours the male player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists, from 1956 to 2006.
About Ballon D’OR
What is Ballon D’or? The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football that is one of the oldest and generally regarded as the most prestigious individual award for football players. It has been awarded since 1956.
Although between 2010 and 2015, an agreement was made with FIFA, and the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (founded in 1991) and known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
However, the partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d’Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men’s Player.
The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d’Or are considered as winners by both award organizations, according to Wikipedia.
This article here covers only winners for the best male players category, we also working on an article for the best female category as well soon.
Key Records
Argentina’s very own Lionel Messi currently holds the title as the most awarded player with a total of 8 wins, while his rival, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo currently holds the title for the most nominated player, with a total of 18 nominations and with 5 wins.
England’s Stanley Matthews was the first to ever win the Ballon D’or award back in 1956, but in recent times, France and PSG star, Ousmane Dembélé takes over as the newly crowned Ballon d’Or player for 2025 winner for the men side, a titled previously held by Spain’s Rodri in 2024.
The 2025 Ballon d’Or awards was held on Monday, September 22nd, and saw Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain) win the best women category awards, and yes its her third consecutive win.
Check out the list of winners below.
Full list of all Men’s Ballon d’Or winners from 1956-2023
- 1956 Stanley Matthews, Blackpool
- 1957 Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid
- 1958 Raymond Kopa, Real Madrid
- 1959 Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid
- 1960 Luis Suarez, Barcelona
- 1961 Omar Sivori, Juventus
- 1962 Josef Masopust, Dukla Prague
- 1963 Lev Yashin, Dynamo Moscow
- 1964 Denis Law, Manchester United
- 1965 Eusebio, Benfica
- 1966 Bobby Charlton, Manchester United
- 1967 Florian Albert, Ferencvaros
- 1968 George Best, Manchester United
- 1969 Gianni Rivera, AC Milan
- 1970 Gerd Muller, Bayern Munich
- 1971 Johan Cruyff, Ajax
- 1972 Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich
- 1973 Johan Cruyff, Barcelona
- 1974 Johan Cruyff, Barcelona
- 1975 Oleg Blokhin, Dynamo Kiev
- 1976 Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich
- 1977 Allan Simonsen, Borussia Moenchengladbach
- 1978 Kevin Keegan, Hamburg SV
- 1979 Kevin Keegan, Hamburg SV
- 1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich
- 1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich
- 1982 Paolo Rossi, Juventus
- 1983 Michel Platini, Juventus
- 1984 Michel Platini, Juventus
- 1985 Michel Platini, Juventus
- 1986 Igor Belanov, Dynamo Kiev
- 1987 Ruud Gullit, AC Milan
- 1988 Marco van Basten, AC Milan
- 1989 Marco van Basten, AC Milan
- 1990 Lothar Matthaeus, Inter Milan
- 1991 Jean-Pierre Papin, Marseille
- 1992 Marco van Basten, AC Milan
- 1993 Roberto Baggio, Juventus
- 1994 Hristo Stoichkov, Barcelona
- 1995 George Weah, AC Milan
- 1996 Matthias Sammer, Borussia Dortmund
- 1997 Ronaldo, Inter Milan
- 1998 Zinedine Zidane, Juventus
- 1999 Rivaldo, Barcelona
- 2000 Luis Figo, Real Madrid
- 2001 Michael Owen, Liverpool
- 2002 Ronaldo, Real Madrid
- 2003 Pavel Nedved, Juventus
- 2004 Andriy Shevchenko, AC Milan
- 2005 Ronaldinho, Barcelona
- 2006 Fabio Cannavaro, Juventus-Real Madrid
- 2007 Kaka, AC Milan
- 2008 Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United
- 2009 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- 2010 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- 2011 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- 2012 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- 2013 Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
- 2014 Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
- 2015 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- 2016 Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
- 2017 Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid
- 2018 Luka Modric, Real Madrid
- 2019 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- 2020 Cancelled
- 2021 Lionel Messi, Barcelona
- 2022 Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and France)
- 2023 Lionel Messi (PSG, Inter Miami & Argentina)
- 2024 Rodri (Manchester City / Spain)
- 2024 Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by France Football magazine. It recognizes the best male football player in the world for his performances over the previous year, based on votes from international journalists.
Who won the first Ballon d’Or in 1956?
The first Ballon d’Or was awarded in 1956 to Stanley Matthews of Blackpool and England.
Which player has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?
Lionel Messi holds the record with 8 Ballon d’Or titles (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023).
How many Ballon d’Or awards has Cristiano Ronaldo won?
Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or 5 times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017).
Was the Ballon d’Or ever cancelled?
Yes, the 2020 Ballon d’Or was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making it the only year since 1956 without a winner.
Who won the 2025 Ballon d’Or (Men’s)?
The 2025 Men’s Ballon d’Or was won by Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain and France.
