The 2026 Ballon d'Or winner will be announced on Monday night at a glittering ceremony in London.
The 70th staging of the event will be the first to be held outside France, with it moving to England as a tribute to Sir Stanley Matthews, who won the first ever Ballon d'Or in 1956.
Below, we pick out five of the most historically significant Ballon d'Or victories and list every winner, going back to the very start.
Honourable mentions must go to Lev Yashin, the only goalkeeper to win the award (1963), and Cristiano Ronaldo, who, with five trophies at home, is second only to Lionel Messi's eight.
1. Stanley Matthews (1956)
Matthews was the inaugural winner of the award and, notably, was aged 41 at the time. His victory established the Ballon d’Or’s place in the game and reflected the enormous respect he commanded across Europe. At 41 years, 10 months and 17 days, he remains the oldest-ever winner.
2. George Weah (1995)
Weah became the first African player to win the Ballon d’Or after the rules were changed to allow non-European players representing European clubs to be eligible. He remains the only African winner of the men’s award, making his triumph a defining moment for football on the continent.
3. Ronaldo (1997)
At 21, Ronaldo Nazario became the youngest winner of the award, a record that still stands. His explosive performances for Barcelona and Inter Milan made him a global phenomenon and cemented his reputation as one of the greatest No 9s of all time.
4. Fabio Cannavaro (2006)
Cannavaro’s victory was largely down to his inspirational leadership of Italy as they lifted the 2006 World Cup. He had also won Serie A with Juventus, although the club was later stripped of the title following the Calciopoli scandal. Significantly, Cannavaro remains the last defender to win the award, two decades ago. Only three defenders have ever won the award: Franz Beckenbauer, Matthias Sammer and Cannavaro.
5. Lionel Messi (2009)
Messi won the first of his record eight Ballon d’Or awards in 2009, with his most recent triumph coming 14 years later, in 2023. During the 2008/09 season, Messi scored 38 goals and provided 19 assists as Barcelona won the treble under Pep Guardiola. That was also the first of four in a row – also a record.
Every winner of the Ballon d’Or:
1956: Stanley Matthews (Blackpool/England)
1957: Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid/Spain)
1958: Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid/France)
1959: Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid/Spain)
1960: Luis Suarez (Barcelona/Spain)
1961: Omar Sivori (Juventus/Italy)
1962: Josef Masopust (Dukla Prague/Czechoslovakia)
1963: Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow/Soviet Union)
1964: Denis Law (Manchester United/Scotland)
1965: Eusebio (Benfica/Portugal)
1966: Bobby Charlton (Manchester United/England)
1967: Florian Albert (Ferencváros/Hungary)
1968: George Best (Manchester United/Northern Ireland)
1969: Gianni Rivera (AC Milan/Italy)
1970: Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich/West Germany)
1971: Johan Cruyff (Ajax/Netherlands)
1972: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich/West Germany)
1973: Johan Cruyff (Barcelona/Netherlands)
1974: Johan Cruyff (Barcelona/Netherlands)
1975: Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv/Soviet Union)
1976: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich/West Germany)
1977: Allan Simonsen (Borussia Mönchengladbach/Denmark)
1978: Kevin Keegan (Hamburg/England)
1979: Kevin Keegan (Hamburg/England)
1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich/West Germany)
1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich/West Germany)
1982: Paolo Rossi (Juventus/Italy)
1983: Michel Platini (Juventus/France)
1984: Michel Platini (Juventus/France)
1985: Michel Platini (Juventus/France)
1986: Igor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv/Soviet Union)
1987: Ruud Gullit (AC Milan/Netherlands)
1988: Marco van Basten (AC Milan/Netherlands)
1989: Marco van Basten (AC Milan/Netherlands)
1990: Lothar Matthaus (Inter Milan/West Germany)
1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille/France)
1992: Marco van Basten (AC Milan/Netherlands)
1993: Roberto Baggio (Juventus/Italy)
1994: Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona/Bulgaria)
1995: George Weah (AC Milan/Liberia)
1996: Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund/Germany)
1997: Ronaldo (Inter Milan/Brazil)
1998: Zinedine Zidane (Juventus/France)
1999: Rivaldo (Barcelona/Brazil)
2000: Luis Figo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2001: Michael Owen (Liverpool/England)
2002: Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Brazil)
2003: Pavel Nedved (Juventus/Czech Republic)
2004: Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan/Ukraine)
2005: Ronaldinho (Barcelona/Brazil)
2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid/Italy)
2007: Kaka (AC Milan/Brazil)
2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United/Portugal)
2009: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
2010: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
2011: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
2012: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
2013: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2014: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2015: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal)
2018: Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia)
2019: Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)
2020: Not awarded (Covid-19 pandemic)
2021: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain/Argentina)
2022: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/France)
2023: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami/Argentina)
2024: Rodri (Manchester City/Spain)
2025: Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain/France)
