Some adjustments to the Ballon d'Or definition

The men's winner is chosen by a jury of 100 international journalists: one per country (Greece has been represented since 1988 by Manos Staramopoulos, editor-in-chief of Discoveryfootball.com) which is in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings.

It's 50 for women too.

Each voter assigns a top 10 in descending order of points for each position: 15 points for first place, 12 for second, and 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 point. If two or more players are tied, the number of first place votes they received is used as the deciding factor.

The contenders, with Vinicius as favorite.

The favorites for this year's "Ballon d'Or" , is it a 4 or 5 way race for the men with Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham, Rodri, Dani Carvajal or Tony Kroos? But all the information and indications so far lead to the conclusion that the Brazilian winger of Real Madrid has a serious lead.

Among the women, a top three is emerging with Salma Paralluelo, Caroline Graham Hansen and Aitana Bonmatí even if the US Olympians are not far behind.

Despite the presence of other major individual awards (including 'FIFA The Best') the French magazine France Football's Ballon d'Or has maintained its position as the premier recognition of the best footballer of the year since its inception in 1956.

 The footballers (as characteristically reported by the French newspaper L'Equipe) will be rewarded during the previous sports season and based on various criteria, with individual presence being the most dominant. Next come "the collective aspect and the trophies won" and "the class and sense of fair-play"

The "Gerd Miller" trophy in...two

The «Gerd Müller Trophy» is awarded to the season's top goalscorer for club and country. Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe are tied on 52 goals in 2023-2024. So we will definitely have two winners this year. This will be Harry Kane's first major individual trophy of his career.

A total of seven trophies will be awarded at the ceremony, since, in addition to the Golden Ball for men, the Golden Ball will be awarded to the top female player, while the Kopa trophy for the best young footballer, the Yassin trophy " for the best goalkeeper, the "Gerd Müller" trophy for the best scorer, the prize for the club of the year and the "Prix Socrates" ("Prix Socrates") as a tribute to the famous Brazilian footballer, who passed away on December 4 2011.

The new trophies

Monday's ceremony will also be marked by something new. Two additional trophies will be awarded: the Men's Team Coach of the Year and the Women's Team Coach of the Year. So Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso for the men's teams and the coach of the women's team of Barcelona Pere Romeo for the women.

The... birth, union, breakup and new deal (with UEFA this time)

The "Ballon D’Or " of "France Football", the most... coveted award in football, which every footballer dreams of winning, started, like the Champions Cup, in 1956 (it was the idea of ​​the then editor-in-chief of the French magazine Jacques Ferran) . And in 2010, under Sepp Blatter's FIFA presidency, 15,000,000 euros were paid to the Amory Group, which owns "L'Equipe", the "L'Equipe" channel and "France Football". in order to acquire the rights to the trophy.

With the arrival of Gianni Infantino in the presidency of FIFA, there was a rift and it was decided not to continue the agreement, since the desire was for the prize to be awarded exclusively by FIFA. In essence, the reasons for the disagreement were different, and according to many, the economic...

Thus the historic institution of the "Ballon D’ Or " is back and is being organized again entirely by the French magazine "France Football" after six years of coexistence with FIFA (World Player of the Year) and the winner will again be chosen by 100 journalists from all over the world. world. But from this year there is another agreement, this time with UEFA.

An important role in the dispute with FIFA also seems to have been played by a study, which showed that talent may not be enough to lead a footballer to success, since relationships and friendships seem to play a decisive role. In particular, the French sports newspaper "L'Equipe", which belongs to the same publishing group as "France Football", had presented a study by three economists from London, Paris and Abu Dhabi, who argued that, since 2010, the weight of the vote given in favor of teammates in the same team, but also especially footballers who come from the same nation.

Messi dominance

Lionel Messi (8 Ballon d'Or) and Cristiano Ronaldo (5 Ballon d'Or) have won 12 of the last 14 Ballon d'Ors, with Luka Modric (Real Madrid) winning the most in 2018 - after the World Cup in Russia major individual prize in the world and Karim Benzema, last winner (2022).

Lionel Messi's first time

It was December 1, 2009, when at the age of 22, Lionel Messi won the "Ballon d'Or" for the first time with 240 points more than the runner-up Cristiano Ronaldo.  Messi was also the first Argentine to  has won the prize since 1996, when the prize was extended to non-Europeans as long as his country had economic dealings with the European Union. Here the famous "Bosman case" played a big role, where it gave the opportunity to the Liberian George Weah to get the Ballon d'Or, as his country had economic relations with the EU and came across this Law.

In fact, the title was the top football player of the European stadiums. The "Ballon d'Or" started its journey in the distant 1956 as an award only for footballers from Europe and widely known as the award for European footballer of the year. In 1995, the Ballon d'Or was expanded to include all footballers playing for European clubs, and became a global award in 2007 for all professional footballers from around the world, with the then winner, Brazilian Kaká.

Matthews, the first winner

Blackpool winger Stanley Matthews was the first winner, while AC Milan's George Weah became the only African to do so, being the first non-European to win the award. Michel Platini (1983, 1984, 1985), Johan Cruyff (1971, 1973, 1974) and Marco van Basten (1988, 1989, 1992) have won three.

Among the women, double winner in 2021 and 2022 Alexia Putellas as well as her Spanish compatriot and FC Barcelona team-mate, title holder Aitana Bonmati, are the big favorites for the 2024 Ballon d'Or after their latest Champions League triumph League. last season.

Mens. The nominees for the Ballon d'Or 2024

Jude Bellingham (ANG, 21 years, Real Madrid) : 54 matches, 27 goals, 16 decisive passes

Hakan Çalhanoglu (TUR, 30, Inter Milan) : 52 matches, 17 goals, 3 decisive passes

 Dani Carvajal (ESP, 32 years, Real Madrid) : 54 matches, 7 goals, 7 decisive passes

 Ruben Dias (POR, 27 years, Manchester City) : 54 matches, 1 goal, 1 passe décisive

 Artem Dovbik (UKR, 27 years, SK Dnipro-1 / Gérone / AS Rome) : 54 matches, 29 goals, 11 decisive passes.

Phil Foden (ANG, 24 years, Manchester City) : 69 matches, 28 goals, 12 decisive passes

 Alejandro Grimaldo (ESP, 28 years, Bayer Leverkusen) : 57 matches, 12 goals, 20 decisive passes

 Erling Haaland (NOR, 24 years, Manchester City) : 53 matches, 45 goals, 5 decisive passes

 Mats Hummels (ALL, 35 years, Borussia Dortmund) : 42 matches, 4 goals, 1 assist

 Harry Kane (ANG, 31 years, Bayern Munich) : 59 matches, 52 goals, 13 decisive passes

 Toni Kroos (ALL, 34 years, Real Madrid / retired) : 56 matches, 1 goal, 12 decisive passes

 Ademola Lookman (NGA, 26 years, Atalanta Bergamo) : 61 matches, 22 goals, 11 decisive passes

 Emiliano Martinez (ARG, 32 years, Aston Villa) : 62 matches, 27 clean sheets

 Lautaro Martinez (ARG, 27 years, Inter Milan) : 60 matches, 35 goals, 4 decisive passes

 Kylian Mbappé (FRA, 25 years, Paris-SG / Real Madrid) : 62 matches, 52 goals, 20 decisive passes

 Martin Ödegaard (NOR, 25 years, Arsenal) : 56 matches, 12 goals, 12 decisive passes

 Dani Olmo (ESP, 26 years, RB Leipzig / FC Barcelona) : 33 matches, 13 goals, 7 decisive passes

 Cole Palmer (ANG, 22 years, Manchester City / Chelsea) : 57 matches, 30 goals, 17 decisive passes

 Declan Rice (ANG, 25 years, Arsenal) : 66 matches, 7 goals, 10 decisive passes

 Rodri (ESP, 28 years, Manchester City) : 63 matches, 12 goals, 14 decisive passes

 Antonio Rüdiger (ALL, 31 years, Real Madrid) : 62 matches, 3 goals, 1 assist

 Bukayo Saka (ANG, 22 years, Arsenal) : 59 matches, 21 goals, 16 decisive passes

 William Saliba (FRA, 23 years, Arsenal) : 63 matches, 2 goals, 1 passe décisive

 Federico Valverde (URU, 26 years, Real Madrid) : 67 matches, 5 goals, 7 decisive passes

 Vinicius Jr (BRE, 24 years, Real Madrid) : 49 matches, 26 goals, 12 decisive passes

 Vitinha (POR, 24 years, Paris-SG) : 57 matches, 9 goals, 6 decisive passes

 Nico Williams (ESP, 22 years, Athletic Bilbao) : 49 matches, 11 goals, 22 decisive passes

 Florian Wirtz (ALL, 21 years, Bayer Leverkusen) : 64 matches, 21 goals, 21 decisive passes

 Granit Xhaka (SUI, 31 years, Bayer Leverkusen) : 65 matches, 5 goals, 3 decisive passes

 Lamine Yamal (ESP, 17 years, FC Barcelona) : 65 matches, 10 goals, 14 decisive passes

Femmes

Barbra Banda (ZAM / Shanghai RCB, Pride d'Orlando), Aitana Bonmati (ESP / FC Barcelone), Lucy Bronze (ANG / FC Barcelone, Chelsea), Mariona Caldentey (ESP / FC Barcelone, Arsenal), Tabitha Chawinga (MWI / PSG, OL), Grace Geyoro (PSG), Manuel Guigliano (ITA / AS Roma), Caroline Graham Hansen (NOR / FC Barcelone), Patri Guijarro (ESP / FC Barcelone), Giulia Gwinn (ALL / Bayern Munich), Yui Hasegawa (JAP / Manchester City), Ada Hegerberg (NOR / OL), Lauren Hemp (ANG / Manchester City), Lindsey Horan (É-U / OL), Lauren James (ANG / Chelsea), Marie-Antoinette Katoto (PSG), Alyssa Naeher (É-U / Red Stars de Chicago), Sjoeke Nüksen (ALL / Chelsea), Ewa Pajor (POL / Wolfsbourg, FC Barcelone), Salma Paralluelo (ESP / FC Barcelone), Gabi Portilho (BRÉ / Corinthians), Alexia Putellas (ESP / FC Barcelone), Mayra Ramirez (COL / Levante, Chelsea), Trinity Rodman (É-U / Spirit de Washington), Lea Schüller (ALL / Bayern Munich), Khadija Shaw (JAM / Manchester City), Sophia Smith (É-U, Thorns de Portland), Mallory Swanson (É-U / Red Stars de Chicago), Tarciane (BRÉ / Cortinthians, Dash de Houston), Glodis Viggosdottir (ISL / Bayern Munich).

Ballon d'Or winners

Year        Rank      Player    Team     Points

Ballon d'Or (1956–2009)

1956     Stanley Matthews           England Blackpool            47

1957     Alfredo Di Stéfano (1)    Spain Real Madrid            72

1958     Raymond Kopa Spain Real Madrid            71

1959     Alfredo Di Stéfano (2)    Spain Real Madrid            80

1960     Luis Suárez          Spain Barcelona 54

1961     Omar Sívori        Italy Juventus    46

1962     Josef Masopust Czechoslovakia Dukla Prague       65

1963     Lev Yashin          Soviet Union Dynamo Moscow   73

1964     Denis Law           England Manchester United         61

1965     Eusébio               Portugal Benfica                67

1966     Bobby Charlton England Manchester United         81

1967     Flórián Albert    Hungary Ferencváros      68

1968     George Best       England Manchester United         61

1969     Gianni Rivera     Italy Milan           83

1970     Gerd Müller       West Germany Bayern Munich   77

1971     Johan Cruyff (1)               Netherlands Ajax              116

1972     Franz Beckenbauer (1)  West Germany Bayern Munich   81

1973     Johan Cruyff (2)               Spain Barcelona                96

1974     Johan Cruyff (3)               Spain Barcelona 116

1975     Oleg Blokhin      Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv            122

1976     Franz Beckenbauer (2)  West Germany Bayern Munich   91

1977     Allan Simonsen West Germany Borussia Mönchengladbach          74

1978     Kevin Keegan (1)           West Germany Hamburger SV     87

1979     Kevin Keegan (2)      West Germany Hamburger SV     118

1980     Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (1)  West Germany Bayern  122

1981     Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (2)  West Germany Bayern  106

1982     Paolo Rossi        Italy Juventus    115

1983     Michel Platini (1)             Italy Juventus    110

1984     Michel Platini (2)             Italy Juventus    110

1985     Michel Platini (3) Italy Juventus  127

1986     Igor Belanov      Soviet Union Dynamo Kyiv          84

1987     Ruud Gullit         Italy Milan           106

1988     Marco van Basten (1)    Italy Milan           129

1989     Marco van Basten (2)    Italy Milan           129

1990     Lothar Matthäus              Italy Inter Milan 137

1991     Jean-Pierre Papin             France Marseille      141

1992    Marco van Basten (3)       Italy Milan           98

1993     Roberto Baggio  Italy Juventus    142

1994     Hristo Stoichkov               Spain Barcelona 210

1995     George Weah     Italy Milan           Liberia 144

1996     Matthias Sammer             Germany Dortmund      144

1997     Ronaldo (1)       Italy Inter Milan         222

1998     Zinedine Zidane               Italy Juventus    244

1999      Rivaldo Spain Barcelona 219

2000     Luís Figo               Spain Real Madrid            197

2001     Michael Owen  England Liverpool             176

2002     Ronaldo (2)       Spain Real Madrid            169

2003     Pavel Nedvěd    Italy Juventus    190

2004     Andriy Shevchenko         Italy Milan           175

2005     Ronaldinho        Spain Barcelona 225

2006     Fabio Cannavaro             Spain Real Madrid            173

2007     Kaká     Italy Milan           444

2008     Cristiano Ronaldo (1)     England Man. United         446

2009     Lionel Messi (1)               Spain Barcelona 473

FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015)

2010     Lionel Messi (2)           Spain Barcelona 22.65%

2011     Lionel Messi (3)       Spain Barcelona 47.88%

2012     Lionel Messi (4)       Spain Barcelona 41.60%

2013     Cristiano Ronaldo (2)     Spain Real Madrid            27.99%

2014     Cristiano Ronaldo (3)     Spain Real Madrid            37.66%

2015     Lionel Messi (5)       Spain Barcelona 41.33%

Ballon d'Or (2016–present)

2016     Cristiano Ronaldo (4)     Spain Real Madrid            745

2017     Cristiano Ronaldo (5)     Spain Real Madrid            946

2018     Luka Modrić      Spain Real Madrid            753

2019     Lionel Messi (6)               Spain Barcelona 686

2020     Not awarded due to the COVID-19 pandemic

2021     Lionel Messi (7)   France Paris Saint-Germain          613

2022     Karim Benzema Spain Real Madrid            549

2023     Lionel Messi (8)   United States Inter Miami   462