The list of Ballon d’Or winners runs from Stanley Matthews in 1956 to Harry Kane in 2026, with Lionel Messi’s eight awards the record. Below is the full men’s list year by year, followed by the records, the club and voting facts, and answers to the questions fans ask most.
Quick facts: Ballon d’Or winners at a glance
- Most wins: Lionel Messi, eight (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023)
- Second: Cristiano Ronaldo, five (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)
- Three wins each: Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten
- First winner: Stanley Matthews (Blackpool, England), 1956
- Latest winner: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England), October 26, 2026
- Only goalkeeper to win: Lev Yashin, 1963
Full list of Ballon d’Or winners by year (men)
This table follows the winners listed by Wikipedia through 2025, with the 2026 winner added from AP and Sortiraparis reports. Clubs and nationalities are as listed for the year of the award.
Year
Winner
Club
Country
1956
Stanley Matthews
Blackpool
England
1957
Alfredo Di Stéfano
Real Madrid
Spain
1958
Raymond Kopa
Real Madrid
France
1959
Alfredo Di Stéfano
Real Madrid
Spain
1960
Luis Suárez
Barcelona
Spain
1961
Omar Sívori
Juventus
Italy
1962
Josef Masopust
Dukla Prague
Czechoslovakia
1963
Lev Yashin
Dynamo Moscow
Soviet Union
1964
Denis Law
Manchester United
Scotland
1965
Eusébio
Benfica
Portugal
1966
Bobby Charlton
Manchester United
England
1967
Flórián Albert
Ferencváros
Hungary
1968
George Best
Manchester United
Northern Ireland
1969
Gianni Rivera
Milan
Italy
1970
Gerd Müller
Bayern Munich
West Germany
1971
Johan Cruyff
Ajax
Netherlands
1972
Franz Beckenbauer
Bayern Munich
West Germany
1973
Johan Cruyff
Barcelona
Netherlands
1974
Johan Cruyff
Barcelona
Netherlands
1975
Oleg Blokhin
Dynamo Kyiv
Soviet Union
1976
Franz Beckenbauer
Bayern Munich
West Germany
1977
Allan Simonsen
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Denmark
1978
Kevin Keegan
Hamburger SV
England
1979
Kevin Keegan
Hamburger SV
England
1980
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Bayern Munich
West Germany
1981
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Bayern Munich
West Germany
1982
Paolo Rossi
Juventus
Italy
1983
Michel Platini
Juventus
France
1984
Michel Platini
Juventus
France
1985
Michel Platini
Juventus
France
1986
Igor Belanov
Dynamo Kyiv
Soviet Union
1987
Ruud Gullit
Milan
Netherlands
1988
Marco van Basten
Milan
Netherlands
1989
Marco van Basten
Milan
Netherlands
1990
Lothar Matthäus
Inter Milan
Germany
1991
Jean-Pierre Papin
Marseille
France
1992
Marco van Basten
Milan
Netherlands
1993
Roberto Baggio
Juventus
Italy
1994
Hristo Stoichkov
Barcelona
Bulgaria
1995
George Weah
Milan
Liberia
1996
Matthias Sammer
Borussia Dortmund
Germany
1997
Ronaldo
Inter Milan
Brazil
1998
Zinedine Zidane
Juventus
France
1999
Rivaldo
Barcelona
Brazil
2000
Luís Figo
Real Madrid
Portugal
2001
Michael Owen
Liverpool
England
2002
Ronaldo
Real Madrid
Brazil
2003
Pavel Nedvěd
Juventus
Czech Republic
2004
Andriy Shevchenko
Milan
Ukraine
2005
Ronaldinho
Barcelona
Brazil
2006
Fabio Cannavaro
Real Madrid
Italy
2007
Kaká
Milan
Brazil
2008
Cristiano Ronaldo
Manchester United
Portugal
2009
Lionel Messi
Barcelona
Argentina
2010
Lionel Messi
Barcelona
Argentina
2011
Lionel Messi
Barcelona
Argentina
2012
Lionel Messi
Barcelona
Argentina
2013
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid
Portugal
2014
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid
Portugal
2015
Lionel Messi
Barcelona
Argentina
2016
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid
Portugal
2017
Cristiano Ronaldo
Real Madrid
Portugal
2018
Luka Modrić
Real Madrid
Croatia
2019
Lionel Messi
Barcelona
Argentina
2020
Not awarded (COVID-19 pandemic)
2021
Lionel Messi
Paris Saint-Germain
Argentina
2022
Karim Benzema
Real Madrid
France
2023
Lionel Messi
Inter Miami
Argentina
2024
Rodri
Manchester City
Spain
2025
Ousmane Dembélé
Paris Saint-Germain
France
2026
Harry Kane
Bayern Munich
England
Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?
Messi leads on eight, and Ronaldo (Portugal) follows on five. Platini won three in a row from 1983 to 1985. Cruyff won in 1971, 1973 and 1974, and van Basten in 1988, 1989 and 1992. Five players have won twice: Franz Beckenbauer, Brazil’s Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Kevin Keegan and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. Everyone else on the list has one. Our profile of Cristiano Ronaldo covers the other side of that rivalry.
Real Madrid Ballon d’Or winners and the club count
Wikipedia’s club table gives Real Madrid 12 wins from eight players: Di Stéfano (twice), Kopa, Figo, Ronaldo, Cannavaro, Cristiano Ronaldo (four times), Modrić and Benzema. Barcelona also have 12, from six players, with Messi accounting for six of them. Juventus and Milan have eight each. Counts can differ by source depending on which club a player is credited to, so treat them as a guide.
Top 10 Ballon d’Or winners: how to rank them
There is no official ranking, but the numbers give a natural order: Messi (8), Cristiano Ronaldo (5), then Platini, Cruyff and van Basten (3 each), then the two-time winners. Wins are only part of the story, since players also finished second or third many times. According to Wikipedia, Messi finished second five times and Ronaldo six times.
How is the Ballon d’Or voted?
Journalists alone voted until 2006. In 2007 national-team coaches and captains were added, and since 2016 the vote has been journalists only again. Since 2022 the award follows a season rather than a calendar year, and an international jury of journalists, one for each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s ranking, decides the winner. The stated criteria are individual performances, team performances and achievements, and class and fair play. France Football runs the award.
For the 2026 award, Sortiraparis reports the jury was 100 journalists, the eligible season ran from August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026, and the scoring ran from 15 points for first place down to one for tenth. See our coverage of the 2024 Ballon d’Or for how a recent vote played out.
Ballon d’Or 2026: Kane, Mbappé and Yamal
The 2026 ceremony took place at the London Palladium on October 26, the first time it has been held outside Paris, according to Sortiraparis. Harry Kane became the first Englishman to win since Michael Owen in 2001. The same report lists Kylian Mbappé second, Lamine Yamal third, Rodri fourth and Lionel Messi fifth. AP says Kane scored 73 goals for club and country in the eligible season, and that Alexia Putellas won her third women’s award.
Ballon d’Or history: years that stand out
In 2020 no award was given because of the pandemic. In 2022 Karim Benzema won with 549 points, ahead of Sadio Mané on 193 and Kevin De Bruyne on 175, according to Wikipedia. Rodri’s 2024 win is covered in our 2024 shortlist piece. Browse more explainers in Football Explained.
Frequently asked questions
Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?
Lionel Messi holds the record with eight wins (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023). Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five.
Who won the Ballon d’Or in 2026?
Harry Kane of Bayern Munich won the men’s award at a ceremony in London on October 26, 2026, ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lamine Yamal, according to AP and Sortiraparis.
Which club has the most Ballon d’Or winners?
Wikipedia’s club table lists Real Madrid and Barcelona with 12 wins each, followed by Juventus and Milan with eight each.
How is the Ballon d’Or voted?
Since 2022 an international jury of journalists, one from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men’s ranking, votes. France Football runs the award, and UEFA has co-organised the gala since 2024.
Was the Ballon d’Or cancelled in 2020?
Yes. Groupe Amaury decided not to award it for 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so there is no winner for that year.
Has a goalkeeper ever won the Ballon d’Or?
Only one: Lev Yashin of Dynamo Moscow won in 1963. The Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper is named after him.
This list will be extended when the next winner is announced, and the records above show how rare a repeat winner is.
Sources: Wikipedia (Ballon d’Or), Associated Press, Sortiraparis, Mangools keyword data. Article date: November 6, 2026.
