Ballon d’Or

Quick facts about Ballon d'Or

1. It is the most prestigious individual award in global football, created by French sports magazine France Football writer Gabriel Hanot and first awarded on December 18, 1956, to Blackpool's Stanley Matthews.
2. It derives its name directly from the French translation meaning "Golden Ball," featuring an iconic physical trophy crafted by the Parisian jeweler Mellerio dits Meller that weighs approximately 7.2 kilograms and holds an estimated intrinsic gold-plate valuation of €3,000 to €5,000.
3. Lionel Messi holds the all-time historic record for the most Ballon d'Or wins in history, securing the award 8 times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023), followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with 5 wins.
4. They modified the eligibility criteria in 1995 to allow non-European players playing at European clubs to win (enabling George Weah to become the first non-European winner in 1995), before expanding eligibility globally in 2007 and shifting from calendar-year evaluation to European football season performance in 2022.
5. It sparked intense international outrage and scandal in 2020 when publisher L'Équipe canceled the award entirely due to COVID-19 pandemic disruptions, stripping Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski of a consensus victory during a 55-goal treble-winning season.
6. They triggered a high-profile global scandal at the October 2024 ceremony when Real Madrid entirely boycotted the Paris gala after learning Vinícius Júnior had been beaten for the Men's Ballon d'Or by Manchester City's Rodri, leaving empty seats for Real Madrid's Men's Club of the Year award.