The Ballon d'Or is the most prestigious individual accolade in world football, esteemed for its rich history and significance in the sport.
Lionel Messi has dominated this award in recent years, winning a record eight titles, with his longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo scooping five during the same unprecedented period.
Messi was awarded his eighth Ballon d'Or in 2023 but since his move to MLS and Inter Miami, he is not expected to be a contender for the 2024 award, signalling a potential shift in the long-standing Messi- Ronaldo era of dominance.
Although other awards have emerged to celebrate top footballing performances, the Ballon d'Or remains the pinnacle of individual recognition. Nevertheless, event organisers have once again expanded the range of prizes on offer.
What are those other awards? The Sporting News has you covered.
MORE: All the latest soccer news
What are the Ballon d'Or awards?
Ballon d'Or
An annual football award presented by France Football and now UEFA, given to the best male football player in the world based on their performance over the previous year. You can see the 2024 list of nominees here.
Ballon d'Or Feminin
The female counterpart to the Ballon d'Or, awarded to the best female football player in the world. You can see the 2024 list of nominees here.
Aitana Bonmati & Lionel Messi! Our 2023 Ballon d'Or!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/5vReANytDC
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 30, 2023
Kopa Trophy
An award given to the best male football player under the age of 21, named after French football great Raymond Kopa.
The 2024 Kopa Trophy nominees can be found here.
Yashin Trophy
An award for the best male goalkeeper in the world, named in honor of legendary Soviet Union goalkeeper Lev Yashin.
The nominees for 2024 are:
Diogo Costa (Porto)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG)
Gregor Kobel (Borussia Dortmund)
Andriy Lunin (Real Madrid)
Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
Giorgi Mamardashvili (Valencia)*
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Unai Simon (Athletic Club)
Yann Sommer (Inter Milan)
Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns)
*Agreed to transfer to Liverpool in 2025
Gerd Muller Trophy
An award that recognizes the top goal scorer in world football, named after German football legend Gerd Muller.
Socrates Award
An award given to a football player who has demonstrated outstanding humanitarian work, named after the Brazilian footballer Socrates.
Men's Club of the Year
An award presented to the best men's football club based on their achievements over the past year.
The nominees for 2024 are:
Borussia Dortmund
Girona
Bayer Leverkusen
Real Madrid
Manchester City
Back-to-Back winner! Manchester City is the men club of the year!
— Ballon d'Or (@ballondor) October 30, 2023
Congrats, @ManCity 💙#clubdelannee #ballondor pic.twitter.com/1cTu15YSUn
Women's Club of the Year
An award presented to the best women's football club based on their achievements over the past year.
The nominees for 2024 are:
Barcelona
Chelsea
Gotham
Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain
Men's Coach of the Year
An award recognizing the best men's team football coach in the world based on their performance over the previous year. You can see the list of nominees for 2024 here.
Women's Coach of the Year
An award recognizing the best football coach of a female team based on their performance over the previous year. The nominees for 2024 can be found here.
When is the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony?
The 2024 Ballon d'Or gala is due to be held on Monday, October 28, 2024 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France.
The ceremony is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET).
Previous Ballon d'Or winners
Below is a list of all players who have won the Ballon d'Or since its inception.
A reminder, the award was also only eligible to European-born players until 1995 when that rule was changed, opening up the award to all players contracted by European clubs. From 2007, any player in any league in the world could be nominated.
| Player | Winner(s) | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi (Argentina) | 8 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023) | 5 (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) | 1 (2007) |
| Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) | 5 (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017) | 6 (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018) | 1 (2019) |
| Michel Platini (France) | 3 (1983, 1984, 1985) | 2 (1977, 1980) | |
| Johan Cruyff (Netherlands) | 3 (1971, 1973, 1974) | 1 (1975) | |
| Marco van Basten (Netherlands) | 3 (1988, 1989, 1992) | ||
| Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany) | 2 (1972, 1976) | 2 (1974, 1975) | 1 (1966) |
| Ronaldo (Brazil) | 2 (1997, 2002) | 1 (1996) | 1 (1998) |
| Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain) | 2 (1957, 1959) | 1 (1956) | |
| Kevin Keegan (England) | 2 (1978, 1979) | 1 (1977) | |
| Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany) | 2 (1980, 1981) | 1 (1979) | |
| Luis Suarez (Spain) | 1 (1960) | 2 (1961, 1964) | 1 (1965) |
| Eusebio (Portugal) | 1 (1965) | 2 (1962, 1966) | |
| Bobby Charlton (England) | 1 (1966) | 2 (1967, 1968) | |
| Raymond Kopa (France) | 1 (1958) | 1 (1959) | 2 (1956, 1957) |
| Gerd Muller (West Germany) | 1 (1970) | 1 (1972) | 2 (1969, 1973) |
| Zinedine Zidane (France) | 1 (1998) | 1 (2000) | 1 (1997) |
| Gianni Rivera (Italy) | 1 (1969) | 1 (1963) | |
| Ruud Gullit (Netherlands) | 1 (1987) | 1 (1988) | |
| Lothar Matthaus (Germany) | 1 (1990) | 1 (1991) | |
| Roberto Baggio (Italy) | 1 (1993) | 1 (1994) | |
| Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) | 1 (1994) | 1 (1992) | |
| Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine) | 1 (2004) | 2 (1999, 2000) | |
| George Best (Northern Ireland) | 1 (1968) | 1 (1971) | |
| Allan Simonsen (Denmark) | 1 (1977) | 1 (1983) | |
| Ronaldinho (Brazil) | 1 (2005) | 1 (2004) | |
| Stanley Matthews (England) | 1 (1956) | ||
| Omar Sivori (Italy) | 1 (1961) | ||
| Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia) | 1 (1962) | ||
| Lev Yashin (Soviet Union) | 1 (1963) | ||
| Denis Law (Scotland) | 1 (1964) | ||
| Florian Albert (Hungary) | 1 (1967) | ||
| Oleg Blokhin (Soviet Union) | 1 (1975) | ||
| Paolo Rossi (Italy) | 1 (1982) | ||
| Igor Belanov (Soviet Union) | 1 (1986) | ||
| Jean-Pierre Papin (France) | 1 (1991) | ||
| George Weah (Liberia) | 1 (1995) | ||
| Matthias Sammer (Germany) | 1 (1996) | ||
| Rivaldo (Brazil) | 1 (1999) | ||
| Luis Figo (Portugal) | 1 (2000) | ||
| Michael Owen (England) | 1 (2001) | ||
| Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic) | 1 (2003) | ||
| Fabio Cannavaro (Italy) | 1 (2006) | ||
| Kaka (Brazil) | 1 (2007) | ||
| Luka Modric (Croatia) | 1 (2018) | ||
| Karim Benzema (France) | 1 (2022) |
