Ballon d’Or: Full List of Winners, Most Wins of All Time

World soccer’s most prestigious award was first handed out in 1956.

Ousmane Dembélé is the most recent winner of the Men’s Ballon d’Or. / Franck Fife/AFP/Getty Images

The most coveted individual prize in world soccer—and perhaps in world sport as a whole—is the Ballon d’Or.

First awarded in 1956, the Ballon d'Or award is given to the sport's top player, voted by a panel of soccer journalists representing the top 100 countries in the FIFA Men's rankings and the top 50 countries in the FIFA Women’s rankings.

Previous winners span from Alfredo Di Stéfano and Johan Cruyff to Marco van Basten and Zinedine Zidane, but arguably soccer’s two greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, are the standard bearers when it comes to multiple wins. Much in part to their success, Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two clubs with the most men's Ballon d'Or wins (12) in history.

On the women’s side, Barcelona are the dominant force since the award’s inception in 2018—they provided the winner for four straight years between 2021 and 2024.

Here’s a full rundown of the award’s history.

Next. Ballon d’Or Winners. 2025 Ballon d’Or: Complete Rankings for Every Award. dark

1. Ballon d'Or Winners
2. Who Has Won the Most Ballon d’Or Awards?
3. Ballon d’Or Feminin Winners
4. Who Has Won the Most Ballons d’Or Feminin?

---

Ballon d'Or Winners

Year	Player	Club	Country
2025	Ousmane Dembélé	Paris Saint-Germain	France
2024	Rodri	Manchester City	Spain
2023	Lionel Messi	Inter Miami	Argentina
2022	Karim Benzema	Real Madrid	France
2021	Lionel Messi	Paris Saint-Germain	Argentina
2020	-	-	-
2019	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Argentina
2018	Luka Modrić	Real Madrid	Croatia
2017	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	Portugal
2016	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	Portugal
2015	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Argentina
2014	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	Portugal
2013	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid	Portugal
2012	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Argentina
2011	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Argentina
2010	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Argentina
2009	Lionel Messi	Barcelona	Argentina
2008	Cristiano Ronaldo	Manchester United	Portugal
2007	Kaká	Milan	Brazil
2006	Fabio Cannavaro	Real Madrid	Italy
2005	Ronaldinho	Barcelona	Brazil
2004	Andriy Shevchenko	Milan	Ukraine
2003	Pavel Nedvěd	Juventus	Czechia
2002	Ronaldo	Real Madrid	Brazil
2001	Michael Owen	Liverpool	England
2000	Luís Figo	Real Madrid	Portugal
1999	Rivaldo	Barcelona	Brazil
1998	Zinedine Zidane	Juventus	France
1997	Ronaldo	Inter	Brazil
1996	Matthias Sammer	Borussia Dortmund	Germany
1995	George Weah	Milan	Liberia
1994	Hristo Stoichkov	Barcelona	Bulgaria
1993	Roberto Baggio	Juventus	Italy
1992	Marco van Basten	Milan	Netherlands
1991	Jean-Pierre Papin	Marseille	France
1990	Lothar Matthäus	Inter	Germany
1989	Marco van Basten	Milan	Netherlands
1988	Marco van Basten	Milan	Netherlands
1987	Ruud Gullit	Milan	Netherlands
1986	Igor Belanov	Dynamo Kyiv	Soviet Union
1985	Michel Platini	Juventus	France
1984	Michel Platini	Juventus	France
1983	Michel Platini	Juventus	France
1982	Paolo Rossi	Juventus	Italy
1981	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	Bayern Munich	West Germany
1980	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	Bayern Munich	West Germany
1979	Kevin Keegan	Hamburg	England
1978	Kevin Keegan	Hamburg	England
1977	Allan Simonsen	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Denmark
1976	Franz Beckenbauer	Bayern Munich	West Germany
1975	Oleg Blokhin	Dynamo Kyiv	Soviet Union
1974	Johan Cruyff	Barcelona	Netherlands
1973	Johan Cruyff	Barcelona	Netherlands
1972	Franz Beckenbauer	Bayern Munich	West Germany
1971	Johan Cruyff	Ajax	Netherlands
1970	Gerd Müller	Bayern Munich	West Germany
1969	Gianni Rivera	Milan	Italy
1968	George Best	Manchester United	Northern Ireland
1967	Flórián Albert	Ferencv rosi TC	Hungary
1966	Bobby Charlton	Manchester United	England
1965	Eusébio	Benfica	Portugal
1964	Denis Law	Manchester United	Scotland
1963	Lev Yashin	Dynamo Moscow	Soviet Union
1962	Josef Masopust	Dukla Prague	Czechoslovakia
1961	Omar Sívori	Juventus	Italy
1960	Luis Suárez	Barcelona	Spain
1959	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Real Madrid	Argentina/Spain
1958	Raymond Kopa	Real Madrid	France
1957	Alfredo Di Stéfano	Real Madrid	Argentina/Spain
1956	Stanley Matthews	Blackpool	England

---

Who Has Won the Most Ballon d’Or Awards?

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or more often than any other player, scooping the gong an incredible eight times. Cristiano Ronaldo is his nearest challenger with five, with three other players winning the award on three occasions—Michel Platini, in three consecutive years between 1983 and 1985, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.

A further five players have won the Ballon d’Or twice, including Brazil legend Ronaldo.

Name	Wins	Second Place	Third Place
Lionel Messi	8 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023)	5 (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)	1 (2007)
Cristiano Ronaldo	5 (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017)	6 (2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2018)
Michel Platini	3 (1983, 1984, 1985)		2 (1977, 1980)
Johan Cruyff	3 (1971, 1973, 1974)		1 (1975)
Marco van Basten	3 (1988, 1989, 1992)
Franz Beckenbauer	2 (1972, 1976)	2 (1974, 1975)	1 (1966)
Ronaldo	2 (1997, 2002)	1 (1996)	1 (1998)
Alfredo Di Stéfano	2 (1957, 1959)	1 (1956)
Kevin Keegan	2 (1978, 1979)	1 (1977)
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	2 (1980, 1981)	1 (1979)
Luis Suárez	1 (1960)	2 (1961, 1964)	1 (1965)
Eusébio	1 (1965)	2 (1962, 1966)
Bobby Charlton	1 (1966)	2 (1967, 1968)
Raymond Kopa	1 (1958)	1 (1959)	2 (1956, 1957)
Gerd Müller	1 (1970)	1 (1972)	2 (1969, 1973)
Zinedine Zidane	1 (1998)	1 (2000)	1 (1997)
Gianni Rivera	1 (1969)	1 (1963)
Ruud Gullit	1 (1987)	1 (1988)
Lothar Matthäus	1 (1990)	1 (1991)
Roberto Baggio	1 (1993)	1 (1994)
Hristo Stoichkov	1 (1994)	1 (1992)
Andriy Shevchenko	1 (2004)		2 (1999, 2000)
George Best	1 (1968)		1 (1971)
Allan Simonsen	1 (1977)		1 (1983)
Ronaldinho	1 (2005)		1 (2004)
Stanley Matthews	1 (1956)
Omar Sívori	1 (1961)
Josef Masopust	1 (1962)
Lev Yashin	1 (1963)
Denis Law	1 (1964)
Flórián Albert	1 (1967)
Oleg Blokhin	1 (1975)
Paolo Rossi	1 (1982)
Igor Belanov	1 (1986)
Jean-Pierre Papin	1 (1991)
George Weah	1 (1995)
Matthias Sammer	1 (1996)
Rivaldo	1 (1999)
Luís Figo	1 (2000)
Michael Owen	1 (2001)
Pavel Nedvěd	1 (2003)
Fabio Cannavaro	1 (2006)
Kaká	1 (2007)
Luka Modrić	1 (2018)
Karim Benzema	1 (2022)
Rodri	1 (2024)
Ousmane Dembélé	1 (2025)

---

Ballon d’Or Feminin Winners

Year	Player	Club	Country
2025	Aitana Bonmatí	Barcelona	Spain
2024	Aitana Bonmatí	Barcelona	Spain
2023	Aitana Bonmatí	Barcelona	Spain
2022	Alexia Putellas	Barcelona	Spain
2021	Alexia Putellas	Barcelona	Spain
2020	-	-	-
2019	Megan Rapinoe	OL Reign	United States
2018	Ada Hegerberg	Olympique Lyonnais	Norway

---

Who Has Won the Most Ballons d’Or Feminin?

Aitana Bonmatí broke her tie with Alexia Putellas to become the player with the most Ballon d’Or Femínin wins in history. Bonmatí took home the honor three times, with her most recent win coming in 2025.

Ada Hegerberg was the inaugural winner in 2018, followed 12 months by USWNT mega star Megan Rapinoe. The award was not handed out in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Name	Wins	Second Place	Third Place
Aitana Bonmatí	3 (2023, 2024, 2025)
Alexia Putellas	2 (2021, 2022)
Ada Hegerberg	1 (2018)
Megan Rapinoe	1 (2019)
Sam Kerr		1 (2023)	2 (2021, 2022)
Pernille Harder		1 (2018)
Lucy Bronze		1 (2019)
Jenni Hermoso		1 (2021)
Beth Mead		1 (2022)
Caroline Graham Hansen		1 (2024)
Salma Paralluelo			2 (2023, 2024)
Dzsenifer Marozsán			1 (2018)
Alex Morgan			1 (2019)

READ MORE ON THE RECENT HISTORY OF THE BALLON D’OR

manual