What is the Ballon d'Or? Why France Football's prize matters most among individual soccer awards

The Ballon d'Or award remains the highest individual prize in world football based on its long history and prestigious place within the sport.

Lionel Messi has reigned supreme in the competition in recent years with the Argentina international winning eight titles as the most prolific Ballon d'Or winner of all time.

Messi's incredible showing as Argentina captain led his country to a first World Cup since 1986 at the end of 2022, which earned him the most recent award of his glittering career at last year's ceremony. Although he led his country to more Copa America success in 2024, he is not expected to be a frontrunner for the prize this time.

Despite the emergence of other similar awards that acknowledge elite performance in football, the Ballon d'Or has remained as the pinnacle, as the Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo hegemony of the trophy edges towards its end.

MORE: Is Messi's Ballon d'Or record untouchable? | Which club produced the most winners?

What is the Ballon d'Or? 

The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French football magazine France Football to the voted No.1 player in world football. As of 2024, the award is jointly organised between the French publication and UEFA.

The prize has undergone changes over the years following its inauguration in 1956, with a brief merger from 2010 to 2015 as a combined FIFA World Player of the Year award.

That was named the FIFA Ballon d'Or, but it returned as the Ballon d'Or in 2016, with FIFA creating The Best FIFA Football Awards as a rival ceremony.

Part of the reason for the Ballon d'Or remaining the most coveted prize is its longevity and place in football history for players and fans across the world.

The aura and significant history surrounding the famous ball trophy, and the iconic names to have lifted it, means the alternate FIFA awards are not viewed in the same way due to their relative lack of gravitas.

Ballon d'Or awards

Alongside the Ballon d'Or award, France Football also issues other trophies as part of the ceremony.

These include the Ballon d'Or Feminin (awarded to the No.1 female player) the Kopa Trophy (awarded to the No.1 male player aged under 21) and the Yashin Trophy (awarded to the No.1 male goalkeeper).

MORE: All the different Ballon d'Or awards explained

Who votes in the Ballon d'Or?

For the men's Ballon d'Or award, votes are cast by 180 journalists from around the world, with each representing a different nation.

They are asked to rank their top-five players from the 30-man shortlist in order of merit. The player ranked first receives five points, the second four points, and so on.

The overall winner is confirmed by the player with the most total points from the votes. In the unlikely event of a tie, the winner is whoever has most first-place votes.

Journalists will be instructed that individual performances should form the basis of their votes, with team trophies a secondary factor in the criteria.

Who has won the most Ballon d'Or awards?