The Ballon D’or award is each year received to the best player of the year. Every player’s dream is to one day win the Ballon d’Or, but very few get the chance to do that.
It’s one of the most prestigious awards in the world, across all sports, so it’s always interesting to look at the past winners. Below is a breakdown of all the Ballon d’Or winners, from the first award in 1956 to the most recent one.
Before going through each year’s winner, here are the players with the most Ballon d’Or awards.
Here are all the Ballon d’Or winners, from the start in 1956 to the most recent one.
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint Germain FC |
| 2020 | Not Awarded | |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona |
| 2018 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi | FC Barcelona |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United |
| 2007 | Kaká | AC Milan |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Real Madrid |
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | FC Barcelona |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | AC Milan |
| 2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Juventus FC |
| 2002 | Ronaldo (R9) | Real Madrid |
| 2001 | Michael Owen | Liverpool FC |
| 2000 | Luís Figo | Real Madrid |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | FC Barcelona |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus FC |
| 1997 | Ronaldo (R9) | Inter Milan |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Borussia Dortmund |
| 1995 | George Weah | AC Milan |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | FC Barcelona |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Juventus FC |
| 1992 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | Olympique Marseille |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Inter Milan |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | AC Milan |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1985 | Michel Platini | Juventus FC |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | Juventus FC |
| 1983 | Michel Platini | Juventus FC |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Juventus FC |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Bayern Munich |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Bayern Munich |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburger SV |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburger SV |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Borussia Mönchengladbach |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | Bayern Munich |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff | FC Barcelona |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff | FC Barcelona |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | Bayern Munich |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff | AFC Ajax |
| 1970 | Gerd Müller | Bayern Munich |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | AC Milan |
| 1968 | George Best | Manchester United |
| 1967 | Flórián Albert | Ferencv rosi TC |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | Manchester United |
| 1965 | Eusébio | SL Benfica |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Manchester United |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | Dynamo Moscow |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Dukla Prague |
| 1961 | Omar Sívori | Juventus FC |
| 1960 | Luis Suárez | FC Barcelona |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Real Madrid |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | Real Madrid |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Real Madrid |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | Blackpool FC |