The Ballon d’Or is one of the most personal honor in the world of football, was earlier known as FIFA Ballon d’Or as from 2009 until 2015 the Ballon d’Or & FIFA Player of the Year awards were merged. Up until 1995, the award was often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award as it was only open to European players at European clubs. The eligibility rules were changed in 1995 to allow non-European players to be eligible for the award if they played for a European club. Then in 2007, any player in the world became eligible.
Since 2016, France Football host the annual event for Ballon d’Or Dream Team, as the best footballers are judged based on their performances by journalists, national team coaches and captains from across the globe.
The annual award ceremony held by France Football returned in 2021 after it was suspended last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lionel Messi won the men’s Ballon d’Or for a record-extending seventh time after earning his first major international trophy with Argentina. Alexia Putellas became the third winner of the women’s award for an outstanding season with Barcelona and Spain.
Chelsea Football Club was named the 2021 Club of the Year. The club had both its men’s and women’s teams feature in the final of the UEFA Champions League, with the men’s side winning the top European club prize.
The inaugural Striker of the Year was awarded to Robert Lewandowski. The Bayern Munich player scored 59 goals last season.
List of all winners of 2021 Ballon d’Or awards:
Kopa trophy (best player under 21) – Pedri
Best Striker of the Year award – Lewandoski
Women’s Ballon d’Or 2021 – Alexia Putellas
Yachine Trophy 2021 – Gianluigi Donnarumma
Men’s Ballon d’Or 2021 – Lionel Messi.
Club of the Year award – Chelsea
Full list of Ballon d’Or Men’s winners:
1956 – Stanley Matthews, Blackpool
1957 – Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid
1958 – Raymond Kopa, Real Madrid
1959 – Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid
1960 – Luis Suarez, Barcelona
1961 – Omar Sivori, Juventus
1962 – Josef Masopust, Dukla Prague
1963 – Lev Yashin, Dynamo Moscow
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, Bayern Munich
1971 – Johan Cruyff, Ajax
1972 – Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich
1973 – Johan Cruyff, Barcelona
1974 – Johan Cruyff, Barcelona
1975 – Oleg Blokhin, Dynamo Kiev
1976 – Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich
1977 – Allan Simonsen, Borussia Moenchengladbach
1978 – Kevin Keegan, Hamburg SV
1979 – Kevin Keegan, Hamburg SV
1980 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich
1981 – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich
1982 – Paolo Rossi, Juventus
1983 – Michel Platini, Juventus
1984 – Michel Platini, Juventus
1985 – Michel Platini, Juventus
1986 – Igor Belanov, Dynamo Kiev
1987 – Ruud Gullit, AC Milan
1988 – Marco van Basten, AC Milan
1989 – Marco van Basten, AC Milan
1990 – Lothar Matthaeus, Inter Milan
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 – Matthias Sammer, Borussia Dortmund
1997 – Ronaldo, Inter Milan
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, Juventus-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 – Cancelled due to COVID
2021 – Lionel Messi, Barcelona
Full list of Ballon d’Or Women’s winners:
2018 – Ada Hegerberg, Lyon
2019 – Megan Rapinoe, OL Reign
2020 – Cancelled due to COVID
2021 – Alexia Putellas, Barcelona
Full list of Kopa Trophy winners:
2018 – Kylian Mbappé, Paris Saint-Germain
2019 – Matthias de Ligt, Juventus
2020 – Cancelled due to COVID
2021 – Pedri, Barcelona
Full list of Yashin Trophy winners:
2019 – Alisson, Liverpool
2020 – Cancelled due to COVID
2021 – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Paris Saint-Germain
