The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.
The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season.
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was named the world's best player for a record eight times by FIFA. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, and the UEFA Champions League four times. With his country, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (eight), and most assists in La Liga (192) and the Copa América (17). He also has the most international goals by a South American male (106). Messi has scored over 800 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club (672).
The 2008 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded on 2 December 2008. Cristiano Ronaldo won the award, being his first of five. His win also began a 10-year dominance of the award between him and Lionel Messi — which eventually led to an intense rivalry between the two. Both players had won five Ballon d'Or awards before the dominance was ended in 2018 by Luka Modrić.
The 1982 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Paolo Rossi on 28 December 1982.
The 2002 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Ronaldo on 12 December 2002. This was Ronaldo's second Ballon d'Or, his first award was in 1997.
The FIFA Ballon d'Or was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and France Football, the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or, the two most prestigious individual honours in world football. Unlike the Ballon d'Or awarded by France Football, the FIFA Ballon d'Or, was not awarded based on votes from international journalists, but votes from national team coaches and captains, who selected the players they deemed to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.
The 2010 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the inaugural year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The gala is a continuation of the FIFA World Player Gala and a result of merging the FIFA Men's World Player of the Year award with the Ballon d'Or, previously created and presented by France Football to the top men's player in Europe. The awards ceremony took place on 10 January 2011 in Zürich, Switzerland. The three finalists for each category were announced on 6 December 2010.
The 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the second year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 9 January 2012, with Lionel Messi claiming the title of world player of the year for the third time in a row.
The 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the third year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 7 January 2013, with Lionel Messi winning a record fourth consecutive Ballon d'Or.
The 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fourth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 13 January 2014. The deadline for voting was 15 November 2013 but was extended to 29 November 2013 for the first time in history.
The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry, or Ronaldo–Messi rivalry, is a sporting rivalry in football propelled by the media and fans that involves Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, mainly for being contemporaries and due to their similar records and sporting successes. They spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers facing off regularly while playing for rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fifth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 12 January 2015.
The 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the sixth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich, Switzerland on 11 January 2016.
The 2016 Ballon d'Or was an award given to the best-performing football player around the world in 2016.
The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. The award was formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.
The 2017 Ballon d'Or was the 62nd annual award recognising the best male footballer in the world for 2017.
The 2018 Ballon d'Or was the 63rd annual award ceremony recognising the best footballer in the world for 2018. The winners were announced on 3 December 2018, and for the first time in its history, the Ballon d'Or Féminin and Kopa Trophy were awarded to the best female footballer and male under-21 footballer, respectively. Luka Modrić, who was integral to Real Madrid's Champions League victory and Croatia's surprise journey to the 2018 FIFA World Cup final, was awarded the Ballon d'Or. His win meant that it was the first time since Kaká in 2007 that a player other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo won the award, ending the 10-year Messi–Ronaldo dominance.
The 2019 Ballon d'Or was the 64th annual ceremony of the Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football, and recognising the best footballers in the world for 2019. Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi won his record-breaking sixth award and broke the tie with Cristiano Ronaldo for most Ballon d'Or awards. Virgil van Dijk came in a very close second after a stellar year with Liverpool and Netherlands national team while Cristiano Ronaldo came in third with Juventus.
The Super Ballon d'Or is the name of a prize that was awarded only once on 24 December 1989, by the French magazine France Football for the best football player of the previous three decades. It is even more exclusive than the prestigious Ballon d'Or.
Lionel Messi (1st award)
