What is the Ballon d’Or, and who has won the most?

Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards? Lionel Messi has won it more often than any other player, eight times.

The Ballon d’Or is the annual award, presented by France Football, for the player judged to have performed best over the previous season. It was first given on December 18, 1956. Many fans treat the winner as the best player in the world, and the soccer award is the prize most people mean. Cristiano Ronaldo has five wins, far behind Messi. The ranking below covers the top winners and explains how the prize developed.

Key Takeaways

• France Football presents the award every year.
• The first award was given in 1956.
• Ousmane Dembélé won the 2025 award.
• Since 2022, the award covers a football season, not a calendar year.
• A separate prize, the Ballon d’Or Féminin, honors women players.

Check the year of each win before quoting a total, since the count changed hands with the 2022 rule change.

How the Ballon d’Or Is Decided Today

The winner is chosen by a jury of journalists, with one voter from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking. This international jury sits at the center of Ballon d’Or voting, and its rules shape who can win.

A jury of specialized journalists makes the final choice, not a fan poll. Each voter takes part in the same process, so the result reflects many national views.

Since 2022, the award covers a football season rather than a calendar year.

The selection criteria for the Ballon d’Or 2026 are individual performances, team performances and achievements, and class and fair play. The 2026 shortlist covers performances from August 3, 2025 to July 19, 2026.

Who Votes and How the Jury Works

Voters rank their choices, and the award uses a points system to count them. Ties are settled under the published rules, so every vote has a clear path to the final order.

Critics say the vote leans toward attacking players, who score goals and win headlines. They also argue that the award singles out one person in a team sport, which can hide the work of teammates.

Supporters reply that a prize for one player needs one name, so a single winner is the point of the award. That debate is one reason the rules have changed several times since 1956.

The Three Criteria and Their Order

The jury weighs three criteria, listed here in the order the rules give them:

1. Individual performances
2. Team performances and achievements
3. Class and fair play

Read the criteria as a ranking, since individual performance comes first and fair play last.

Who Has Won the Most Ballon d’Or Awards

Lionel Messi has eight wins, more than any other player in the award’s history. Messi’s eight wins are the most of any player. The player with the most Ballon d’Or wins is Messi, and the gap is clear in the table below.

Cristiano Ronaldo has five wins, in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. He also holds the record for nominations, with 18, which shows how often he reached the final vote.

Messi won the award while playing for three clubs: Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami. Platini, Cruyff and Marco van Basten each won three times, but none has more than Messi.

Count wins by year, not by season label, since the 2020 award was not given.

Which Countries Have Produced the Most Winners

Among countries with most Ballon d’Or wins, Argentina and France share the lead with eight each. Since 1995, only six countries have supplied winners.

Argentina’s eight wins all belong to Lionel Messi. France’s eight wins come from five players, and the most recent is Ousmane Dembélé’s 2025 award.

France Ballon d’Or winners include Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Jean-Pierre Papin, Zinedine Zidane and Ousmane Dembélé. Spain has four wins, and its latest came from Rodri in 2024.

Count a country’s wins by the player’s nationality in the year of the award, since some winners played for clubs abroad.

Eligibility Changes and the Years Without a Winner

The award was open only to European players until 1995. Eligibility has widened in steps, from European players to a global award. The Super Ballon d’Or, a one-time prize, is the one exception that stands apart from the regular rules.

From European Players to a Global Award

Five changes shaped the award into its current form. Each one widened who could win or changed how the prize is run.

1. 1956: The award is first presented on December 18, 1956.
2. 1995: Players of any origin who are active at European clubs become eligible.
3. 2007: The award becomes a global award.
4. 2010 to 2015: The award merges with FIFA’s World Player of the Year as the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
5. 2020: No award is given because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Super Ballon d’Or was a special prize, and Alfredo Di Stéfano won it on December 24, 1989. It honored the best player of the previous three decades, chosen by viewers and readers, a France Football judges’ panel and former winners.

The 2020 Cancellation and the FIFA Merger

The COVID-19 cancellation left a gap in the record, so the list of winners skips that year. The merger years from 2010 to 2015 created a second name for the same prize, which caused confusion.

Treat the FIFA Ballon d’Or years as shared winners, since both organizations count them.

Records, Firsts and Oldest Winners

Ronaldo Nazário was 21 years and 96 days old when he won the 1997 award. He is the youngest Ballon d’Or winner, and his record has stood for decades.

Ronaldo Nazário is the youngest winner, at 21 years and 96 days in 1997. Several other records stand out in the list below.

• Oldest winner: Stanley Matthews, who was the first winner in 1956 at 41 years and 321 days.
• Youngest winner: Ronaldo Nazário, in 1997.
• First African winner: George Weah, in 1995, and the only African winner so far.
• Only goalkeeper to win: Lev Yashin, in 1963.
• Only defender to win twice: Franz Beckenbauer, in 1972 and 1976.

Check the age on the award date, not the ceremony date, when comparing winners.

The Ballon d’Or Féminin and Its Winners

Aitana Bonmatí has three women’s wins, the most in the award’s short history. Ada Hegerberg was the first winner, in 2018. The Ballon d’Or Féminin is the women’s soccer award that honors the best women players each year.

Alexia Putellas won in 2021 and again in 2022. Her two wins came in the early years of the prize, when the field was still taking shape.

• 2018: Ada Hegerberg, the first winner.
• 2019: Megan Rapinoe.
• 2023: Aitana Bonmatí.
• 2024: Aitana Bonmatí.
• 2025: Aitana Bonmatí.

Barcelona supplied the winner four years running, from 2021 to 2024.

That run came from one club, but it did not come from one player. Putellas and Bonmatí shared the honor, which shows how deep the squad was.

Compare women’s winners only with women’s winners, since the two awards run on separate votes.

Conclusion

The short answer stays the same: Lionel Messi has won the most. The record holder is a clear answer, and it sits inside a longer Ballon d’Or history that began in 1956.

The award now runs on a jury and a football season instead of a single calendar year. That shift changed how the best player in the world is chosen, so the rules matter as much as the names.

Check the official winners list on the award’s website before citing any count.

Sources

1. Ballon d’Or 2026: Date, time, voting, odds, favourites, all-time winners, BOAT explained – everything you need to know — Explains the voting jury, the three criteria in priority order, the points system and how ties are resolved.

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