The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956 and co-organized alongside UEFA since 2024. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year and known as the FIFA Ballon d'Or. That partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d'Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men's Player. The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d'Or are considered as winners by both award organisations.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards, a record three UEFA Men's Player of the Year Awards, and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (128) and international appearances (205). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,200 professional career appearances, the most by an outfield player, and has scored over 850 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time.
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).
Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur, Real Madrid and Wales. He is widely regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time. He was best known for his explosive pace, athleticism, and powerful strikes from distance.
El Clásico or El Clàssic, both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every match between the clubs, such as those in the UEFA Champions League, Supercopa de España and Copa del Rey. It is considered one of the biggest club football games in the world and is among the most viewed annual sporting events. A fixture known for its intensity, it has featured memorable goal celebrations from both teams, often involving mockery from both sides.
New Maradona or New Diego was a title given by the press and public to promising Argentine football players in reference to Diego Maradona as a benchmark. Since Maradona retired, people had been anticipating someone to lead the Argentina national team to a World Cup final, like Maradona did in 1986 and 1990. As a consequence, very talented youngsters were quickly labeled as the New Maradona, sometimes without any similarity in playing style. The New Maradonas were predominantly players in attacking or advanced playmaking roles — forwards, wingers, or attacking midfielders. The term gradually fell out of use after Lionel Messi successfully managed to lead Argentina to World Cup finals in 2014 and 2022, winning it in the latter, arguably emulating and surpassing Maradona to become the most successful Argentine footballer ever.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, also known as Neymar Júnior, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Brazil national team. Regarded as one of the best players in the world, he is renowned for his flamboyant style of play, passing abilities, and two-footedness. Neymar has scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs, being one of a few players to do so, and is the highest-scoring Brazilian player in Champions League history.
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.
Kylian Mbappé Lottin is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the France national team. Regarded as one of the best players in the world, he is known for his dribbling, speed, and finishing.
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.
Neymar: The Perfect Chaos is a 2022 Netflix docuseries about Brazilian professional football player Neymar. Directed by David Charles Rodrigues, it is in Portuguese with subtitles available in other languages and consists of three episodes chronicling Neymar's rise to stardom, both within and outside of football, as well as a deeper look at the relationship between Neymar and his father, also named Neymar. Executive producers include LeBron James and Maverick Carter. While Neymar is the main focus, the series also sees guest stars including: Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé, David Beckham, Marquinhos, and Luis Suárez.
The knockout stage of the 2022 FIFA World Cup was the second and final stage of the competition, following the group stage. Played from 3 to 18 December, the knockout stage ended with the final, held at Lusail Stadium in Lusail. The top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination tournament. There were 16 matches in the knockout stage, including a third place play-off played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the 22nd edition of FIFA's competition for men's national football teams. The match was played at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, on 18 December 2022, the Qatari National Day, and was contested by Argentina and defending champions France. With a record 1.5 billion people watching on television, the final became one of the most widely watched televised sporting events in history.
Messi's World Cup: The Rise of a Legend is a biographical documentary series produced in a collaboration between Apple TV+, SMUGGLER Entertainment and Pegsa Group. The series follows Lionel Messi's triumphant career, his overall impact on football and shows his journey of highs and lows with the Argentina national football team across five World Cups, culminating with his fairytale ending of winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
