Ballon d’Or is an annual men’s football award represented by the French magazine France Football.
Lionel Messi clinched the 2023 Ballon d’Or award, which was his 8th Ballon d’Or for the best player. The 2023 edition of the Ballon d’Or Award was the 67th annual ceremony of this men’s football award. Chelsea player Didier Drogba was the host of the award ceremony at Theatre du Chatelet in Paris. Argentina legend Lionel Messi and Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland were the two main competitors for the top spot.
The Elite Football Award was presented for the first time in 1956 since then, the tradition continues. Stanley Matthews from Blackpool was the first Ballon d’Or winner.
Complete List of Ballon d’Or Winners from 1956 to 2023
| Year | Winner | Club |
| 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 Kyiv |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | Bayern Munich |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Borussia Monchengladbach |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburg |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | Hamburg |
| 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 Kyiv |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | AC Milan |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten | AC Milan |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthaus | Internazionale |
| 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 | Internazionale |
| 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 | Real Madrid |
| 2007 | Kaka | 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) | – | – |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2022 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid |
| 2023 | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami |
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