After a year of absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on November 29 the winner of the 2021 Ballon d’Or will be known in Paris.
UEFA.com brings you all the facts and curiosities about this award: this year’s nominees, all the winners throughout history, the most awarded players, etc.
2021 Ballon d’Or candidates
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César Azpilicueta (Chelsea, Spain)
Nicolò Barella (Inter, Italy)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France)
Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus, Italy)
Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus, Italy)
Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Bélgica)
Reuben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain, Italy)
Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United, Portugal)
Phil Foden (Manchester City, Inglaterra)
Erling Haaland (Dortmund, Norway)
Jorginho (Chelsea, Italy)
Harry Kane (Tottenham, England)
N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea, Francia)
Simon kjaer (Milan, Dinamarca)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter, Argentina)
Robert Lewandowski (Bayern, Poland)
Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea, Belgium)
Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, Argelia)
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Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain, France)
Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain, Argentina)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
Gerard Moreno (Villarreal, Spain)
Mason Mount (Chelsea, England)
Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain, Brasil)
Pedri (Barcelona, Spain)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt)
Raheem Sterling (Manchester City, Inglaterra)
Luis Suarez (Athletic, Uruguay)
In parentheses the player’s current team and nationality.
Breakdown of candidates by teams
Chelsea 5, Manchester City 5; Paris Saint-Germain 4; Inter 2, Juventus 2, Manchester United 2, Real Madrid 2; Atlético 1, Barcelona 1, Bayern 1, Dortmund 1, Liverpool 1, Milan 1, Tottenham 1, Villarreal 1.
Candidate breakdown by nationality
Italy 5; England 4; Spain 3, France 3, Portugal 3; Argentina 2, Belgium 2; Algeria 1, Brazil 1, Croatia 1, Denmark 1, Egypt 1, Norway 1, Poland 1, Uruguay 1.
All winners
2020 Undelivered
2019 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
2018 Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia)
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
2015 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
2013 Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
2012 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
2011 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
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2010 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
2009 Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Argentina)
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal)
2007 Kakà (Milan, Brazil)
2006 Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid, Italy)
2005 Ronaldinho (Barcelona, Brazil)
2004 Andriy Shevchenko (Milan, Ucrania)
2003 Pavel Nedvěd (Juventus, Czech Republic)
2002 Ronaldo (Real Madrid, Brazil)
2001 Michael Owen (Liverpool, Inglaterra)
2000 Luís Figo (Real Madrid, Portugal)
1999 Rivaldo (Barcelona, Brazil)
1998 Zinédine Zidane (Juventus, France)
1997 Ronaldo (Inter, Brazil)
1996 Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund, Germany)
1995 George Weah (Milan, Liberia)
1994 Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona, Bulgaria)
1993 Roberto Baggio (Juventus, Italy)
1992 Marco Van Basten (Milan, Netherlands)
1991 Jean Pierre Papin (Marseille, Francia)
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1990 Lothar Matthäus (Inter, Germany)
1989 Marco Van Basten (Milan, Netherlands)
1988 Marco Van Basten (Milan, Netherlands)
1987 Ruud Gullit (Milan, Netherlands)
1986 Igor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv, USSR)
1985 Michel Platini (Juventus, France)
1984 Michel Platini (Juventus, France)
1983 Michel Platini (Juventus, France)
1982 Paolo Rossi (Juventus, Italy)
1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bavaria, Germany)
1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bavaria, Germany)
1979 Kevin Keegan (Hamburg, England)
1978 Kevin Keegan (Hamburg, England)
1977 Allan Simonsen (Borussia Monchengladbach, Denmark)
1976 Franz Beckenbauer (Bavaria, Germany)
1975 Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv, USSR)
1974 Johan Cruyff (Barcelona, The Netherlands)
1973 Johan Cruyff (Barcelona, The Netherlands)
1972 Franz Beckenbauer (Bavaria, Germany)
1971 Johan Cruyff (Ajax, The Netherlands)
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1970 Gerd Müller (Bavaria, Germany)
1969 Gianni Rivera (Milan, Italy)
1968 George Best (Manchester United, Northern Ireland)
1967 Flórián Albert (Ferencváros, Hungary)
1966 Bobby Charlton (Manchester United, Inglaterra)
1965 Eusebio (Benfica, Portugal)
1964 Denis Law (Manchester United, Escocia)
1963 Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscou, USSR)
1962 Josef Masopust (Dukla, Czechoslovakia)
1961 Omar Sívori (Juventus, Italy)
1960 Luis Suárez (Barcelona, Spain)
1959 Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid, Spain)
1958 Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid, France)
1957 Alfredo Di Stéfano (Real Madrid, Spain)
1956 Stanley Matthews (Blackpool, Inglaterra)
More awards
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6 – Lionel Messi
5 – Cristiano Ronaldo
3 – Michel Platini
3 – Johan Cruyff
3 – Marco van Basten
Classification of the Ballon d’Or 2019
1 – Lionel Messi
2 – Virgil van Dijk
3 – Cristiano Ronaldo
4 – Healthy Mané
5 – Mohamed Salah
6 – Kylian Mbappé
7 – Alisson Becker
8 – Robert Lewandowski
9 – Bernardo Silva
10 – Riyad Mahrez
UEFA Best Player of the Year Awarded
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2020/21: Jorginho
2019/20: Robert Lewandowski
2018/19: Virgil van Dijk
2017/18: Luka Modrić
2016/17: Cristiano Ronaldo
2015/16: Cristiano Ronaldo
2014/15: Lionel Messi
2013/14: Cristiano Ronaldo
2012/13: Franck Ribéry
2011/12: Andrés Iniesta
2010/11: Lionel Messi
* The magazine ‘France Football’ has awarded this award every year since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015 it was called FIFA Ballon d’Or, with four awards for Messi and two for Ronaldo, but the highest body of world football is no longer associated to the award. Stats include FIFA Ballon d’Or stage
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