The Ballon d'Or has recognized many of the biggest names in soccer history since 1956. Created by France Football, the award was first won by Stanley Matthews, then a Blackpool player. Since that inaugural edition, the men's prize has been presented every year with one exception: 2020, when France Football did not award it amid the global pandemic.
All Ballon d'Or Winners in History
From Stanley Matthews in 1956 to Ousmane Dembélé in 2025, the Ballon d'Or has honored some of soccer's greatest players. Lionel Messi, with eight awards, sits alone at the top of the all-time ranking.
The list currently runs through 2025, when Ousmane Dembélé won the prize for the first time. Lionel Messi remains the all-time record holder with eight Ballon d'Or awards, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with five.
The early winners: 1956-1979
1956: Stanley Matthews; 1957: Alfredo Di Stéfano; 1958: Raymond Kopa; 1959: Alfredo Di Stéfano; 1960: Luis Suárez; 1961: Omar Sívori; 1962: Josef Masopust; 1963: Lev Yashin; 1964: Denis Law; 1965: Eusébio; 1966: Bobby Charlton; 1967: Flórián Albert; 1968: George Best; 1969: Gianni Rivera; 1970: Gerd Müller; 1971: Johan Cruyff; 1972: Franz Beckenbauer; 1973: Johan Cruyff; 1974: Johan Cruyff; 1975: Oleh Blokhin; 1976: Franz Beckenbauer; 1977: Allan Simonsen; 1978: Kevin Keegan; 1979: Kevin Keegan.
From Platini to Ronaldo: 1980-2007
1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge; 1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge; 1982: Paolo Rossi; 1983: Michel Platini; 1984: Michel Platini; 1985: Michel Platini; 1986: Ihor Belanov; 1987: Ruud Gullit; 1988: Marco van Basten; 1989: Marco van Basten; 1990: Lothar Matthäus; 1991: Jean-Pierre Papin; 1992: Marco van Basten; 1993: Roberto Baggio; 1994: Hristo Stoichkov; 1995: George Weah; 1996: Matthias Sammer; 1997: Ronaldo; 1998: Zinédine Zidane; 1999: Rivaldo; 2000: Luís Figo; 2001: Michael Owen; 2002: Ronaldo; 2003: Pavel Nedvěd; 2004: Andriy Shevchenko; 2005: Ronaldinho; 2006: Fabio Cannavaro; 2007: Kaká.
The Messi-Ronaldo era and recent winners
2008: Cristiano Ronaldo; 2009: Lionel Messi; 2010: Lionel Messi; 2011: Lionel Messi; 2012: Lionel Messi; 2013: Cristiano Ronaldo; 2014: Cristiano Ronaldo; 2015: Lionel Messi; 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo; 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo; 2018: Luka Modrić; 2019: Lionel Messi; 2020: not awarded; 2021: Lionel Messi; 2022: Karim Benzema; 2023: Lionel Messi; 2024: Rodri; 2025: Ousmane Dembélé.
From 2008 through 2017, Messi and Ronaldo won all 10 editions. Modrić ended that run in 2018. New champions later emerged, including Benzema, Rodri and Dembélé, but Messi's all-time record remains untouched.
The list also reflects different eras of European soccer. Cruyff and Van Basten won three times each, while Platini became the first player to claim three consecutive editions before Messi later won four in a row from 2009 through 2012. With the 2026 award still to come, Dembélé remains the most recent men's Ballon d'Or winner.
