Ballon d or rankings

Lionel Messi's record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or success came as a surprise to absolutely nobody in the footballing world.

Conceived by sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran, the Ballon d'Or award honors the male player deemed to have performed the best over the previous year, based on voting by football journalists, from to In , the Ballon d'Or was expanded to include all players of any origin that have been active at European clubs. After , coaches and captains of national teams were also given the right to vote. They changed the timing so that awards were given not for achievements during a calendar year, but for a football season. Stanley Matthews of England was the inaugural winner of the Ballon d'Or. Even after , it was usually identified with and referred to by that name because of its origin as a European award, until it was merged with FIFA's World Player award cementing its new worldwide claim. Lionel Messi has won the award a record eight times, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with five.

Ballon d or rankings

The race for the Golden Ball is on - so which of the game's biggest stars are true contenders, and who are merely pretenders? After a season headlined by him finally getting his hands on the World Cup, Lionel Messi took home his eighth Ballon d'Or after picking up the prize in Paris back in October. The footballing world moves on quickly though, and already predictions are being made as to the identity of the winner. It promises to be an intense race. Along with the usual ups and downs of the European domestic season, this is a campaign that will see the majority of the globe's best players take part in international tournaments, including the European Championship and Copa America this summer. So after a year that was defined by the battle between tournament success and season-long superiority, how much of a bearing on the Ballon d'Or race will those competitions have? Meanwhile, could we see the first win from someone who plays their club football outside of Europe, as more and more of the game's biggest names head to up-and-coming leagues in other parts of the world? One thing is for certain is that GOAL will be here every step of the way to track the contenders for the biggest individual prize the game has to offer. Ready to join us for the ride? Then step right in for the latest update of our Ballon d'Or Power Rankings Tom Maston.

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In , Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or for a record eighth time! The year-old received the award off the back of an unforgettable year in which he finally won the World Cup with Argentina. Erling Haaland was his closest competitor but wasn't able to win the accolade for the first time in his career, after finishing second in the vote despite having won the treble with Manchester City last season. At the age of 36 and now playing in MLS with Inter Miami, it feels as though Messi is unlikely to add a ninth to his collection. What's more Cristiano Ronaldo has not won the award since , so he's unlikely to win it next year after a season with Al-Nassr — although you can't entirely rule out either legend just yet.

The Ballon d'Or rankings have been finalised, with Real Madrid's Karim Benzema scooping up the men's prize and Barcelona's Alexia Putellas winning the women's award. Benzema was the runaway Ballon d'Or favourite , after spearheading Real Madrid's successful Champions League campaign. Previous winners Cristiano Ronaldo placed 17th in the list, with winner Luka Modric coming in ninth, while record holder of the gong Lionel Messi did not even make the shortlist for the first time since Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski and Mohamed Salah were other names in the mix for the prize this year, but no one was able to pry the award away from Benzema, who was superlative for club and country — meaning he will play a key part in the France World Cup squad. If you're looking to understand why Karim Benzema deserves to win the Ballon d'Or , we've got you covered. Spain star Putellas became the first player to win the Ballon d'Or Feminin in successive years when she claimed the award.

Ballon d or rankings

We're well and truly out of the duopoly era, now. Last autumn saw Karim Benzema lift France's for the first time since Zinedine Zidane — but this time, it looks like Leo's final hurrah. Despite Manchester City winning a treble, however, a Citizen won't be lifting the award…. Martin Odegaard Nicolo Barella Jamal Musiala

520 usd to aud

Raymond Kopa [note 4]. Much like Ronaldo, Messi is another ageing great who may well be past their prime but could potentially keep themselves in the running with another brilliant season. Karim Benzema. Yui Hasegawa. Neymar [note 30]. Lev Yashin. Union of European Football Associations. Quite the contrary, he appears to thrive in the pressure-cooker environment of the Santiago Bernabeu, and he could hold the key to finally ending England's long wait for trophy success at international level. A ludicrous amount of goals. Contents move to sidebar hide. Virgil van Dijk. Rachel Daly.

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At the age of 36 and now playing in MLS with Inter Miami, it feels as though Messi is unlikely to add a ninth to his collection. Lionel Messi. Red Star Belgrade. Real Madrid [d]. Erling Haaland finished second in the vote, despite his impressive achievements with Manchester City last season. Having finally left Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, the prospect of winning silverware for the first time in his career suddenly looks to be a realistic goal for Kane. Millie Bright. Gary Lineker [note 14]. Harry Kane is one of, if not the only, footballer in the world currently capable of scoring goals like that, and having moved to Bayern Munich, he's finally going to win some trophies barring an unmitigated disaster in Bavaria. What's more Cristiano Ronaldo has not won the award since , so he's unlikely to win it next year after a season with Al-Nassr — although you can't entirely rule out either legend just yet. Archived from the original on 12 July Along with the usual ups and downs of the European domestic season, this is a campaign that will see the majority of the globe's best players take part in international tournaments, including the European Championship and Copa America this summer. Victor Osimhen. The only thing that may hurt his chances of winning the award is Norway simply not being good enough to compete at Euro Says it all, really.