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Ballon d'Or: Date, history, previous winners & more

After Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d'Or award in Paris in 2023, attention has now turned to who will win the prize in 2024.

It was difficult to see anybody else pick up the Ballon d'Or at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris after Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar at the end of last year, but runner-up Erling Haaland also had a strong claim after a record-breaking first season for Manchester City in which Pep Guardiola's side won a treble of trophies.

Messi and Haaland will hope to be in contention for the most reputable individual award in the world of football again next year, and there is sure to be fierce competition as ever.

Ballon d'Or history

Conceived by French sportswriter Gabriel Hanot, the Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 1956 to Blackpool and England star Stanley Matthews, who pipped Real Madrid duo Alfredo Di Stefano and Raymond Kopa to the prize.

Initially seen as an award for just European players, the criteria was extended to include players from all over the world playing in Europe in 1995, with George Weah becoming the first player from outside the continent to pick up the trophy that same year.

The award then became a truly global prize in 2007, with all professional footballers from around the world being considered eligible.

Argentina star Messi has won the Ballon d'Or on a record eight occasions, three more than old adversary Cristiano Ronaldo, while Michel Platini, Marco van Basten and Johan Cruyff are the only other players to have received the accolade more than twice.

Karim Benzema's success in 2022 meant France joined Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Argentina as the most decorated nations in the trophy's history, with players from those countries having won it seven times, while along with Italy and Germany, France also boast the most individual winners of the Ballon d'Or with 5.

It has been announced that ahead of the 2024 awards the Ballon d'Or will be co-organised by UEFA and French media company Groupe Amaury for the first time, with new awards launched for best men's and women's coach of the year.

The Ballon d'Or Feminin, or as it is more commonly known the Women's Ballon d'Or, was established in 2018, with Ada Hegerberg having claimed the inaugural prize.
 

Ballon d'Or date

After Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d'Or on 30th October 2023, there has be no official announcement of the date for 2024's ceremony, which will take place in Paris as usual.

The awards typically take place during the month of October.
 

Ballon d'Or contenders

20-year-old English midfielder Jude Bellingham is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Ballon d'Or after making a breath-taking start to life at Real Madrid following a summer switch from Borussia Dortmund.

Should Birmingham City academy graduate Bellingham go on to collect major silverware for Los Blancos this season and shine for Gareth Southgate's England at next summer's Euros he will put himself firmly in contention for the individual award.

The two players widely considered to be the heirs to the great Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the future superstars of the sport - Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland - will also have their eyes on collecting a first Ballon d'Or award in 2024.

Other contenders include England captain Harry Kane and Man City midfield lynchpin Rodri, whilst Messi and Ronaldo will be remain as desperate as ever to add a further Ballon d'Or to their collection.
 

Previous Ballon d'Or winners

Year          PlayerTeamPoints
1956Stanley Matthews Blackpool47
1957Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid72
1958Raymond Kopa Real Madrid71
1959Alfredo Di Stéfano Real Madrid80
1960Luis Suárez Barcelona54
1961Omar Sívori Juventus46
1962Josef Masopust Dukla Prague65
1963Lev Yashin Dynamo Moscow73
1964Denis Law Manchester United61
1965Eusébio Benfica67
1966Bobby Charlton Manchester United81
1967Flórián Albert Ferencváros68
1968George Best Manchester United61
1969Gianni Rivera Milan83
1970Gerd Müller Bayern Munich77
1971Johan Cruyff Ajax116
1972Franz Beckenbauer Bayern Munich81
1973Johan Cruyff Barcelona96
1974Johan Cruyff Barcelona116
1975Oleg Blokhin Dynamo Kyiv122
1976Franz Beckenbauer Bayern Munich91
1977Allan Simonsen Borussia Mönchengladbach74
1978Kevin Keegan Hamburger SV87
1979Kevin Keegan Hamburger SV118
1980Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern Munich122
1981Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern Munich106
1982Paolo Rossi Juventus115
1983Michel Platini Juventus110
1984Michel Platini Juventus110
1985Michel Platini Juventus127
1986Igor Belanov Dynamo Kyiv84
1987Ruud Gullit Milan106
1988Marco van Basten Milan129
1989Marco van Basten Milan129
1990Lothar Matthäus Inter Milan137
1991Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille141
1992Marco van Basten Milan98
1993Roberto Baggio Juventus142
1994Hristo Stoichkov Barcelona210
1995George Weah Milan144
1996Matthias Sammer Borussia Dortmund144
1997Ronaldo Inter Milan222
1998Zinedine Zidane Juventus244
1999Rivaldo Barcelona219
2000Luís Figo Real Madrid197
2001Michael Owen Liverpool176
2002Ronaldo Real Madrid169
2003Pavel Nedvěd Juventus190
2004Andriy Shevchenko Milan175
2005Ronaldinho Barcelona225
2006Fabio Cannavaro Real Madrid173
2007Kaká Milan444
2008Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United446
2009Lionel Messi Barcelona473
2010Lionel Messi Barcelona22.65%
2011Lionel Messi Barcelona47.88%
2012Lionel Messi Barcelona41.60%
2013Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid27.99%
2014Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid37.66%
2015Lionel Messi Barcelona41.33%
2016Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid745
2017Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid946
2018Luka Modrić Real Madrid753
2019Lionel Messi Barcelona686
2021Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain613
2022Karim Benzema Real Madrid549
2023Lionel Messi PSG/Inter Miami462

Previous Ballon d'Or Feminin winners

Year          PlayerTeamPoints
2018Ada HegerbergLyon136
2019Megan RapinoeReign FC230
2021Alexia PutellasBarcelona186
2022Alexia PutellasBarcelona176
2023Aitana BonmatiBarcelona266

Kopa Trophy

The Kopa Trophy - awarded to the best player in the world under the age of 21 - was first handed out at the 2018 Ballon d'Or ceremony, with Frenchman Kylian Mbappe receiving the prize.

Since then, Mathijs De Ligt, Pedri and Gavi have all won the Kopa Trophy, with Jude Bellingham the most recent player to be presented with the prize at the 2023 Ballon d'Or awards.
 

Yashin Trophy

The Yashin Trophy recognises the best goalkeeper of the year at the Ballon d'Or awards, with Brazilian Alisson Becker the first winner in 2019.

Gianluigi Donnarumma and Thibaut Courtois were the following two winners, with Argentine World Cup winner Emi Martinez the latest keeper to collect the Yashin Trophy at the 2023 awards in Paris.
 

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