World Cup Golden Ball History As Lionel Messi Hunts Successive Awards

The World Cup Golden Ball is given to the best player at each tournament.

Lionel Messi (L) and Luka Modrić (R) have won the most recent awards. | Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images, Fred Lee/Getty Images.

First introduced in 1982, the Golden Ball has become a staple of each World Cup.

The prize is dished out to the leading performer at each tournament, which is voted on by accredited media representatives covering the competition. Alongside the Golden Boot awarded to the top goalscorer and Golden Glove handed to the best goalkeeper, the Golden Ball is one of the three most prestigious individual prizes on offer.

Naturally, some of the greatest players to have ever graced a soccer field have scooped the award, and the likes of Pelé, Bobby Charlton and Johan Cruyff all would have likely claimed the accolade in the tournaments leading up to the Golden Ball’s inception.

There is a fierce battle for the honor at the 2026 World Cup in North America, with the familiar face of Lionel Messi currently leading the charge.

Here’s a full breakdown of the Golden Ball’s history and past winners.

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Every World Cup Golden Ball Winner By Year

Lionel Messi has twice won the Golden Ball, first doing so when losing the 2014 final. | Alex Livesey/FIFA/Getty Images

There have been 10 different winners of the Golden Ball over the past 44 years, with Italy’s Paolo Rossi the inaugural champion in 1982. Following his tournament-high six goals en route to the title, including one in the final against Germany, it’s little surprise the sharpshooter was rewarded as the competition’s best player.

Eight years later, his compatriot Salvatore Schillaci also won the award, following in Rossi’s footsteps with a six-goal World Cup. Unfortunately for the former Juventus and Inter ace, no title accompanied his individual honor as Italy finished third.

In between the Azzurri greats came Diego Maradona, who produced one of the greatest ever individual World Cup campaigns with Argentina in 1986. A tournament famed for the ‘Hand of God’ and his stunning solo strike against England, the diminutive magician was head and shoulders above his peers in Mexico.

There was back-to-back Brazilian winners before the millennium. Romário won the prize in 1994 as his five goals helped the Seleção to the trophy, while Ronaldo succeeded his countryman with a stunning 1998 campaign which ended bitterly as a mixture of illness and injury stifled him in a 3–0 defeat to France in the final.

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Full List of Golden Ball Winners

Year	Player	Nation
1982	Paolo Rossi	Italy
1986	Diego Maradona	Argentina
1990	Salvatore Schillaci	Italy
1994	Romário	Brazil
1998	Ronaldo	Brazil
2002	Oliver Kahn	Germany
2006	Zinedine Zidane	France
2010	Diego Forlán	Uruguay
2014	Lionel Messi	Argentina
2018	Luka Modrić	Croatia
2022	Lionel Messi	Argentina

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Oliver Kahn became the first and only goalkeeper to win the award four years later, even if he succumbed to the unstoppable Ronaldo in the final as Germany was beaten by Brazil. Die Mannschaft had kept five clean sheets from six matches prior to the showpiece event.

Despite his infamous headbutt in France’s 2006 World Cup final defeat to Italy, Zinedine Zidane was still given the Golden Ball in Germany. The Real Madrid icon scored three times at the tournament and produced one of the all-time great performances during France’s epic win over defending champions Brazil in the quarterfinals.

Zinedine Zidane was fantastic in 2006. | Team 2 Sportphoto/ullstein bild/Getty Images

Diego Forlán was a different beast for Uruguay when lashing the adidas Jabulani goalward, with his tournament-high five goals helping the two-time world champion reach the semifinals in 2010. Four years later, it was the turn of Messi to shine, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner starring for Argentina en route to the final. Even his brilliance couldn’t prevent defeat to Germany in the final, however.

Messi became the first player to ever win the Golden Ball twice when emphatically clinching the crown at the 2022 World Cup. Seven goals helped Argentina to the title as the greatest of all time added another chapter to his unrivaled legacy.

Luka Modrić had won the 2018 Golden Ball, an exceptional World Cup helping Croatia defy the odds to reach the final. The midfielder won the Ballon d’Or the same year.

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World Cup Golden Ball Winners By Country

Diego Maradona was the first winner for Argentina. | IMAGO/Colorsport

Argentina boasts more Golden Ball triumphs than any other nation following Messi’s double and Maradona’s early win. Its total of three awards could well become four if Messi secures back-to-back prizes this summer.

South American rival Brazil trails with two wins, the same number as Italy, while Croatia, France, Germany and Uruguay all have one past recipient.

Despite both winning the World Cup, England and Spain have never had a Golden Ball winner. That could change for the latter this summer should they beat Argentina in the final.

Nation	No. of Golden Ball Wins
Argentina	3
Italy	2
Brazil	2
Croatia	1
France	1
Germany	1
Uruguay	1

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