In mid-October, the best footballer in the world will be chosen again. As part of the Ballon d’Or-Election also honors the world player of the year, the world goalkeeper, the best under-21 player and the best goalscorer. For the second time in history, the evaluation period extends over a season – and not over a calendar year as before.
On September 6th, France Football, which organizes the awards, announced the nominees for the different categories. 90 mins provides an overview:
Award | For what? |
|---|---|
Ballon d’Or | world footballer |
Ballon d’Or feminine | world footballer |
Yashin Trophy | world goalkeeper |
Kopa Trophy | best youngster (U21) |
Gerd Müller Trophy | best scorer |
When? | Where? |
|---|---|
October 16, 2023 | Theater du Chatelet, Paris |
Last year, a new mode was introduced for the Ballon d’Or for the first time, which also applies to 2023.
Whereas the Ballon d’Or was previously awarded at the end of November/beginning of December, the ceremony now takes place in mid-October. This change is mainly due to the assessment period: While the services were previously taken into account per calendar year, since 2022 they have been based on the season – i.e. the services from August to July are counted.
The 2022/23 season is therefore decisive for the Ballon d’Or 2023. The 2022 World Cup is also included in the assessment.
Unlike “The Best”, the Ballon d’Or is not voted for by players, coaches and media representatives, but exclusively by journalists.
For the Ballon d’Or 2022, 100 journalists from the 100 most important FIFA nations selected their top five players from a pre-determined shortlist of 30 players. They rank their top five favorites, and based on that ranking, a certain number of votes are given (see below).
1956 – Stanley Matthews (Blackpool)
1957 – Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
1958 – Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid)
1959 – Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
1960 – Luis Suárez (Barcelona)
1961 – Omar Sivori (Juventus)
1962 – Joseph Masopust (Dukla Prague)
1963 – Lev Yashin (Moscow Dynamo)
1964 – Denis Law (Manchester United)
1965 – Eusebio (Benfica)
1966 – Bobby Charlton (Manchester United)
1967 – Florian Albert (Ferencvaros)
1968 – George Best (Manchester United)
1969 – Gianni Rivera (AC Milan)
1970 – Gerd Muller (FC Bayern)
1971 – Johan Cruyff (ajax)
1972 – Franz Beckenbauer (FC Bayern)
1973 – Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
1974 – Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
1975 – Oleh Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv)
1976 – Franz Beckenbauer (FC Bayern)
1977 – Allan Simonsen (Borussia Monchengladbach)
1978 – Kevin Keegan (HSV)
1979 – Kevin Keegan (HSV)
1980 – Karl Heinz Rummenigge (FC Bayern)
1981 – Karl Heinz Rummenigge (FC Bayern)
1982 – Paolo Rossi (Juventus)
1983 – Michel Platini (Juventus)
1984 – Michel Platini (Juventus)
1985 – Michel Platini (Juventus)
1986 – Igor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv)
1987 – Ruud Gullit (AC Milan)
1988 – Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1989 – Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1990 – Lothar Matthäus (inter)
1991 – Jean Pierre Papin (Marseille)
1992 – Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1993 – Roberto Baggio (Juventus)
1994 – Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona)
1995 – George Weah (AC Milan)
1996 – Matthew Sammer (Borussia Dortmund)
1997 – Ronaldo (inter)
1998 – Zinedine Zidane (Juventus)
1999 – Rivaldo (Barcelona)
2000 – Luis Figo (Real Madrid)
2001 – Michael Owen (Liverpool)
2002 – Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2003 – Pavel Nedved (Juventus)
2004 – Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)
2005 – Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
2006 – Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
2007 – Kaka (AC Milan)
2008 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
2009 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2010 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2011 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2012 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2013 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2014 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2015 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2016 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2017 – Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2018 – Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
2019 – Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2020 – no choice (because of Corona)
2021 – Lionel Messi (PSG)
2022 – Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)
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