FIFA Ballon d'Or

This article is about the men's award. For the women's award, see FIFA World Player of the Year. For the former European Footballer of the Year award, see Ballon d'Or (1956–2009).
Cristiano Ronaldo (left) and Lionel Messi, pictured here in 2011, have dominated the FIFA Ballon d'Or since its inception.

The FIFA Ballon d'Or (French pronunciation: ​[balɔ̃ dɔʁ], "Golden Ball") is an annual association football award given to the world's best male player by the sport's governing body, FIFA, and the French publication France Football since 2010. It is awarded based on votes from international media representatives and national team coaches and captains, who select the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year. A fusion between the former Ballon d'Or and the men's FIFA World Player of the Year award, the FIFA Ballon d'Or is considered the most prestigious individual award in world football.

Since its inception, the FIFA Ballon d'Or has been dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of their ongoing rivalry. Barcelona's Messi won the inaugural Ballon d'Or, before reclaiming the title the following two years and again in 2015. Ronaldo, who plays for Real Madrid, won two successive awards in the intervening years.

Background

FIFA President Sepp Blatter holds up the agreement creating the FIFA Ballon d'Or in Johannesburg.

Prior to 2010, the leading individual awards in association football were the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year award.[1][2] The original Ballon d'Or, also known as the European Footballer of the Year award, had been awarded by the French publication France Football since 1956. European sports journalists invited by France Football selected the recipients from among European or Europe-based players. The FIFA World Player of the Year award, presented by the governing body FIFA from 1991, was international in scope. Winners were chosen by the national team coaches and captains under FIFA's jurisdiction.[3]

From 2005, the winners of the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award were identical each year. Following the introduction of a global Ballon d'Or format in 2007, France Football and FIFA opted to merge the two awards. The creation of the FIFA Ballon d'Or was subsequently announced during the FIFA World Cup held in South Africa in 2010.[3] The inaugural award was presented that same year to the Argentine Lionel Messi.[4] For historical purposes, both organisations regard the FIFA Ballon d'Or as a continuation of their respective former awards.[5][6] The FIFA World Player of the Year award continues as a women's-only award.[7]

The winner of the FIFA Ballon d'Or is chosen by international media representatives and national team coaches and captains.[3] In a voting system based on positional voting, each voter is allotted three votes, worth five points, three points and one point, and the three finalists are ordered based on total number of points. Voters are provided with a shortlist from which they can select the three players they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.[7]

Winners

Until 2010, the best player in the world won the Ballon d'Or or the FIFA World Player of the Year award.
Year First place Second place Third place
2010 Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Spain Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona) Spain Xavi (Barcelona)
2011 Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Spain Xavi (Barcelona)
2012 Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Spain Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona)
2013 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona) France Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich)
2014 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Germany Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich)
2015 Argentina Lionel Messi (Barcelona) Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Brazil Neymar (Barcelona)

Wins by player

# Player First place Second place Third place
1 Argentina Lionel Messi[note 1] 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) 2 (2013, 2014) 0
2 Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo[note 2] 2 (2013, 2014) 3 (2011, 2012, 2015) 0
3 Spain Andrés Iniesta 0 1 (2010) 1 (2012)
4 Spain Xavi 0 0 2 (2010, 2011)
5 France Franck Ribéry 0 0 1 (2013)
Germany Manuel Neuer 0 0 1 (2014)
Brazil Neymar 0 0 1 (2015)

Wins by country

# Country First place Second place Third place
1  Argentina 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) 2 (2013, 2014) 0
2  Portugal 2 (2013, 2014) 3 (2011, 2012, 2015) 0
3  Spain 0 1 (2010) 3 (2010, 2011, 2012)
4  France 0 0 1 (2013)
 Germany 0 0 1 (2014)
 Brazil 0 0 1 (2015)

Wins by club

# Club First place Second place Third place
1 Spain Barcelona 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) 3 (2010, 2013, 2014) 4 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015)
2 Spain Real Madrid 2 (2013, 2014) 3 (2011, 2012, 2015) 0
3 Germany Bayern Munich 0 0 2 (2013, 2014)

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FIFA Ballon d'Or.

References

Notes
  1. ↑ FIFA and France Football credit Messi, the recipient of the 2009 Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, with five Ballons d'Or in total.[5][6] Messi additionally placed as a finalist for both awards in 2007 and 2008.[8][9]
  2. ↑ FIFA and France Football credit Ronaldo, the recipient of the 2008 Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, with three Ballons d'Or in total.[5][6] Ronaldo additionally placed as a finalist for both awards in 2007 and 2009.[8][9]
Citations
  1. ↑ "World Cup 2010: Fifa and Ballon d'Or player awards to be merged". The Daily Telegraph. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Wahl, Grant (15 September 2010). "Xavi, Messi are primary contenders for the 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "The FIFA Ballon d'Or is born". FIFA. 5 July 2010. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  4. ↑ "Argentina's Lionel Messi wins Fifa Ballon d'Or award". BBC Sport. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "FIFA Ballon d'Or: History". FIFA. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 "Ballon d'Or Palmarès: La liste complête des lauréats du Ballon d'or, de 1956 à nos jours" [Ballon d'Or Winners: The full list of the winners of the Ballon d'Or, from 1956 to our days]. France Football. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Rules of allocation" (pdf). FIFA. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  8. 1 2 Pierrend, José Luis (12 February 2015). "FIFA Awards: World Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  9. 1 2 Moore, Rob; Stokkermans, Karel (21 January 2011). "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 15 January 2016.

External links

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