Golden Ball

The Golden Ball (Ballon d’Or) is an annual individual football award that recognises the world’s best footballers. Today, it encompasses not only the main men’s and women’s categories, but also a number of other awards – including Young Talent of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, Coach of the Year, Club of the Year and Striker of the Year.

In this article, we’ll look at its history, how the rules have changed, and review the record-holders. We’ll also take a closer look at the contenders for the 2026 award.

History and evolution of the rules

The history of the award began in 1956, when the first trophy was presented to the English footballer Stanley Matthews. The award was established on the initiative of the French football magazine "France Football". Initially, only players representing European clubs were eligible for the award. This is precisely why such famous players of the past as Pelé and Diego Maradona were ineligible for the trophy at that time.

The first major change came in 1995. The rules were amended to allow players of any nationality to be nominated, provided they played for a club in Europe. That same year, George Weah won the award – becoming the first African Ballon d’Or winner.

In 2007, the award finally moved beyond the confines of European football: players from clubs all over the world became eligible for nomination.

At the same time, the composition of the voting panel changed – representatives from other countries were added to the journalists from European nations. Kaká was crowned the winner.

The next significant phase in the history of the award took place between 2010 and 2015. During this period, "France Football" merged the Ballon d’Or with the FIFA World Player of the Year award, resulting in the creation of the FIFA Ballon d’Or. The joint trophy was won six times: by Lionel Messi in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015, and by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2013 and 2014. In 2016, the partnership came to an end, and France Football restored the award’s original name, the Ballon d’Or.

Another significant change took place in 2022. The system moved away from being based on the calendar year and began assessing performance over the football season. In addition, a rule was established regarding an international panel of specialist journalists – comprising one representative from each country in the relevant FIFA ranking group.

The current system is based on three main criteria. First and foremost are a player’s individual performances, their decisive influence on matches and their impressive standard of play. Next, team results and titles won are taken into account. The third criterion is the player’s class and fair play. It is in precisely this order that the criteria are listed in the official regulations for the 2026 Ballon d’Or.

The Ballon d’Or was not awarded in 2020. France Football cancelled the award due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the football season. For this reason, there is no winner listed for 2020 in the official list of winners between Lionel Messi in 2019 and Lionel Messi in 2021.

Since 2024, UEFA has been involved in organising the ceremony, but the voting system and the name "Ballon d’Or" remain the responsibility of France Football.

The most recent winner of the award (for the 2025 season) was the French winger Ousmane Dembélé.

In 2026, the Men’s Ballon d’Or will be selected by 100 journalists representing countries from the top 100 in the FIFA rankings, whilst the Women’s Ballon d’Or will be selected by representatives from 50 countries. Each member of the jury selects ten players from a list of 30 nominees and ranks them in order of preference. Points are awarded as follows: 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The winner is the player who scores the most points. In the event of a tie, the number of first-place votes is considered first, followed by second, third and so on.

Record-holders for the number of awards

In the Ballon d’Or’s nearly seven decades of existence, only ten footballers have won the award more than once. Lionel Messi is the clear leader with eight awards. He is followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with five, whilst three other football legends: Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten, they have three trophies each.

The 2026 Ballon d’Or

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place on 26 October 2026 at the London Palladium Theatre, England. For the first time in the award’s history, the ceremony will be held in London. The venue has been chosen in honour of Stanley Matthews. Previously, the ceremony had been held outside France in Zurich between 2010 and 2015. In 2026, the Ballon d’Or will celebrate its 70th anniversary.

The list of nominees was announced on 8 September 2026. Thirty footballers have been nominated in the men’s category. Among them are the current winner, Ousmane Dembélé, as well as Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Lamine Yamal, Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Vinícius Júnior, Jude Bellingham and other well-known players.

Paris Saint Germain deserves a special mention: the club has 10 players on the men’s shortlist, including Ferran Torres, who joined the team in the summer of 2026.

List of nominees for 2026

The table below lists all 30 nominees. For players who changed clubs during the assessment period, both clubs are listed.

List of contenders for the award

It is still too early to speak of the favourite as a certain winner: voting is not yet complete, and the result will be announced on 26 October. That said, several names regularly feature in reports on the main contenders for the award.

• Harry Kane (England / Bayern Munich) – one of the contenders following a strong season at Bayern Munich. He is also singled out for his performances at international level. At the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he scored 12 goals for the national team during the season, and at the tournament itself he became England’s top scorer, equalling and then surpassing Gary Lineker’s record for goals scored by an England player at World Cups.
• Kylian Mbappé (France / Real Madrid) is among the main contenders being discussed. In coverage of the 2026 Ballon d’Or, he is regularly mentioned alongside Harry Kane and Lamine Yamal.
• Lamine Yamal (Spain / Barcelona) has once again found himself in the spotlight following his season at Barcelona and his performances for Spain. His name also features consistently amongst the leading contenders in the sports media’s preliminary assessments.
• Rodri (Spain / Manchester City) – the best player of the 2026 World Cup and captain of the Spanish national team. This summer, he moved from Manchester City to Barcelona as a World Cup winner.
• Lionel Messi (Argentina / Inter Miami) – an eight-time winner of the award – has had a superb year: he scored 43 goals and won his first MLS title with Inter Miami.

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