List of football players who have won the Ballon d'Or award from its first edition to the present, with Lionel Messi as the record holder.
On 27 Oct 2016 GMT+7, the list of footballers who have won the Ballon d'Or since its inception includes Argentine player Lionel Messi, who holds the record for the most wins with eight awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023.
Meanwhile, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo won five times in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017. French-Italian legend Michel Platini won three times in 1983, 1984, and 1985; Dutch legend Johan Cruyff won in 1971, 1973, and 1974; and Dutch legend Marco van Basten won in 1988, 1989, and 1992.
1956: Stanley Matthews (Blackpool)
1957: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid)
1958: Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid)
1959: Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid)
1960: Luis Suárez Miramontes (Barcelona)
1961: Omar Sívori (Juventus)
1962: Josef Masopust (Dukla Prague)
1963: Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow)
1964: Denis Law (Manchester United)
1965: Eusébio (Benfica)
1966: Bobby Charlton (Manchester United)
1967: Florian Albert (Ferencváros)
1968: George Best (Manchester United)
1969: Gianni Rivera (AC Milan)
1970: Gerd Müller (Bayern Munich)
1971: Johan Cruyff (Ajax Amsterdam)
1972: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
1973: Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
1974: Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
1975: Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv)
1976: Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
1977: Allan Simonsen (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
1978: Kevin Keegan (Hamburg)
1979: Kevin Keegan (Hamburg)
1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich)
1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich)
1982: Paolo Rossi (Juventus)
1983: Michel Platini (Juventus)
1984: Michel Platini (Juventus)
1985: Michel Platini (Juventus)
1986: Igor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv)
1987: Ruud Gullit (AC Milan)
1988: Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1989: Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1990: Lothar Matthäus (Inter Milan)
1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (Olympique Marseille)
1992: Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1993: Roberto Baggio (Juventus)
1994: Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona)
1995: George Weah (AC Milan)
1996: Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund)
1997: Ronaldo (Inter Milan)
1998: Zinedine Zidane (Juventus)
1999: Rivaldo (Barcelona)
2000: Luís Figo (Real Madrid)
2001: Michael Owen (Liverpool)
2002: Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2003: Pavel Nedvěd (Juventus)
2004: Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)
2005: Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
2007: Ricardo Kaká (AC Milan)
2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
2009: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2010: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2011: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2012: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2013: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2014: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2015: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2018: Luka Modrić (Real Madrid)
2019: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2020: --- Award not presented due to COVID-19 pandemic ---
2021: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
2022: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
2023: Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
2024: Rodri (Manchester City)
2025: Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain)
2026: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)