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.
Raymond Kopa was a French professional footballer, integral to the France national team of the 1950s. At club level he was part of the legendary Real Madrid team of the 1950s, winning three European Cups.
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 Onze d'Or is an association football award given by French magazine Onze Mondial since 1976. The award honors the best player in Europe, with any player in a European league eligible. Since 1991, there has also been a vote for the best coach of the year.
The Trophées UNFP du football are a number of awards given annually by the Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP) to players playing in France's Ligue 1, Ligue 2, and Division 1 Féminine, as well as to managers and referees. The most prestigious award is the Ligue 1 Player of the Year. Created in 1988 under the name Oscars du football, they were renamed in 2004 after a complaint by the Academy Awards committee. The ceremony has been broadcast live on Canal+ since 1994.
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 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.
Matthijs de Ligt is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the Netherlands national team. Considered as one of the best defenders in the world, De Ligt is known for his strength, leadership, aggressiveness, tackling and aerial ability.
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 Ballon d'Or Féminin, also known as the Women's Ballon d'Or, is an association football award presented by France Football that honours the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. It was first awarded in 2018, with Ada Hegerberg of Norway becoming the inaugural recipient of the award. Australian striker Sam Kerr and French defender Wendie Renard are the only players to have been nominated for the award every year since its inception. Sam Kerr is the only player to place in the top 20 nominations every year, and has consistently been in the top 7. In 2022, Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas became the first and only player to win the award twice and in consecutive years.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 were held on 23 September 2019 at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. The ceremony was attended by some of the most well known former players and managers such as Marco Van Basten, Marcel Desailly, Gianlucca Zambrotta, Fabio Capello, Christian Karembeu, Nadine Keßler, Carles Puyol, and others. Two awards were given out for the first time ever.
The Yashin Trophy is an association football award presented annually by France Football to the best performing goalkeeper.
The 2021 Ballon d'Or was the 65th annual ceremony of the Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football, recognising the best footballers in the world in 2021.
The 2022 Ballon d'Or was the 66th annual presentation of the Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football, recognising the best footballers in the world during the 2021–22 season. For the first time in the history of the award, it was given based on the results of the European season, instead of the calendar year. The nominees for the ceremony were announced on 12 August 2022, and the ceremony was held on 17 October. Karim Benzema won the Ballon d'Or, for successfully leading Real Madrid to win both UEFA Champions League and La Liga. Alexia Putellas claimed the Ballon d'Or Féminin, following her successful domestic campaign with Barcelona. In the other award categories, Gavi was given the Kopa Trophy, Thibaut Courtois won the Yashin Trophy, Robert Lewandowski was presented the newly named Gerd Müller Trophy, Sadio Mané was awarded the inaugural Sócrates Award, and Manchester City claimed the Club of the Year award.
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.
The 2023 Ballon d'Or was the 67th annual ceremony of the Ballon d'Or, presented by France Football magazine, recognising the best footballers in the world in the 2022–23 season. For the second time in the history of the award, it was given based on the results of the season instead of the calendar year, with the season starting on 1 August 2022 and ending 31 July 2023. The nominees were announced on 6 September 2023 and the ceremony took place on 30 October 2023.
Lionel Messi 
Megan Rapinoe 
Matthijs de Ligt 
Alisson 
