This prize first-time introduced in 1956. Football’s top player from the previous year receives the Ballon d’Or award each year. Lionel Messi has won this 7 time this award. The recent award was won by Messi in 2021. Cristiano Ronaldo has won this award 5 times.
In August, the 30 players for the Ballon d’Or Award winners in 2022 have been revealed. It is the first time since 2005, Lionel Messi is not on the list.
List of Ballon d’Or Winners
| Year | Player | Club | Nationality |
| 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 | Ferencv rosi TC | 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 M”nchengladbach | Denmark |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburg | England |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburg | 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 | Internazionale | 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 | Internazionale | 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 | Czechia |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | Milan | Ukrain |
| 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 Modric | Real Madrid | Croatia |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | Argentina |
| 2020 | Not Awarded | ||
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain F.C. | Argentina |
| 2022 | TBD | – | – |
