The prestigious Ballon d’Or award has shape-shifted several times since first coming into being in 1956.
Originally conceived by two sports writers working for France Football, a leading magazine of the time, it aimed to honour and celebrate the best performing footballer of the preceding twelve months.
The focus however was only on players plying their brilliance in Europe and for this reason it was widely known as the European Footballer of the Year merit.
That changed in the mid-Nineties, their scope widening to the global stage, while around this time too the voting system altered. Whereas previously only a selection of esteemed journalists could put forward a name, now national team coaches and captains had their say as well.
In 2010 a seismic development saw the Ballon d’Or merge with FIFA’s World Player of the Year award and this heralded another change to the voting procedure, with members of the general public allowed their twopenneth.
For six years this arrangement worked harmoniously until the awards broke up, divvied up their belongings, and went their own separate ways.
In 2022 there was yet another change to the voting. Now one journalist apiece from FIFA’s top 100 ranked nations can cast a choice. No longer are the opinions of national team managers of interest.
That year too, the timescale under review was modified. Instead of the achievements of the last calendar year being in play, only the most recently completed season matters.
All of which brings us up to the present, and it has to be said that the Ballon d’Or honour goes from strength to strength, its stature and importance ever greater.
Currently, Manchester City’s midfield metronome Rodri is the proud recipient, an outcome that led to Real Madrid boycotting the ceremony. They believed Vinicius Jr was a more worthy winner.
That boycott harvested column inches from around the world while photographs of a beaming Rodri was shown here, there and everywhere.
Yet, while the Ballon d’Or garners widespread publicity little is known of it beyond its final declaration each year.
Do winners receive prize money? Where is the ceremony held?
For a thorough breakdown of the highest individual honour a footballer can be bequeathed read on….
Is there prize money?
There is no prize money allocated to the winner of a Ballon d’Or though intriguingly lifting the coveted award can be hugely profitable.
In the modern era it is not uncommon for players to have bonus clauses inserted in their contracts stipulating that winning the award leads to a bumper one-off pay-out. Even being among the 30 nominated players can trigger such a bonus, though presumably less of an amount.
There are also endorsements to consider, a player’s earning power understandably skyrocketing when crowned the best footballer on the planet.
Regarding this, there is an irony to consider. Already established superstars in their own right, and rated among the very best around, do Ballon d’Or contenders need the validation of a win in order to boost their burgeoning bank balance?
They do not, but that extra half a million to stay loyal to a certain brand of boot or leisurewear is duly pocketed anyway.
All about the trophy
Standing 31cm tall and featuring a ball made up of five kilograms of 18-carat gold atop a pyrite base, the Ballon d’Or trophy was designed by Francois Mellerio, an artistic director of Mellerio dits Mellor, a Paris-based jewellery firm that has existed since 1613.
One of the classiest of its kind around, the trophy would look mightily impressive on a winner’s mantelpiece. Alas, in most cases it is swiftly handed to the player’s club, to be housed in their museum.
After 12 months it is replaced by a replica version.
When is this year’s Ceremony?
The nominations for the 2025 winners have already been unveiled and this year’s ceremony is set to take place at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on September 22nd.
The event will be screened live on TNT Sports and, as always, each award will be interspersed by on-stage chat, video clips and musical performances.
In addition to the men’s Ballon d’Or merit there is also the women’s version, with Spain’s Aitana Bonmati heavily fancied in the betting to claim a third trophy in a row.
Moreover, there are ten other awards to hand out. These are:
- The Men's Kopa Trophy (best young player)
- The Women's Kopa Trophy (best young player)
- The Men's Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper)
- The Women's Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper)
- The Men's Gerd Müller Trophy (top scorer in club/national team)
- The Women's Gerd Müller Trophy (top scorer in club/national team)
- The Men's Johan Cruyff Trophy (best coach in club/national team)
- The Women's Johan Cruyff Trophy (best coach in club/national team)
- The Men's Club of the Year Trophy
- The Women's Club of the Year Trophy
Who is favourite for 2025?
The 30 nominees for this year’s men’s award are a who’s who of household names, nine of whom feature in the Premier League in 2025/26.
These are Virgil Van Dijk, Mo Salah, Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Alexis Mac Allister, Viktor Gyokeres, Declan Rice and Florian Wirtz.
The hot favourite however in the football betting to succeed Rodri is PSG forward Ousmane Dembele, the French star firing his club to Ligue 1 and Champions League success last term via 35 goals and 36 assists across all competitions.
Previous winners
The first recipient of the honour was Sir Stanley Matthews in 1956, the ‘Wizard of Dribble’ followed by Real Madrid royalty in Alfredo Di Stefano and Raymond Kopa. Soon after, Barcelona got onto the scene with Luis Suarez taking the plaudits and indeed Spanish clubs lead the way in being represented the most at the ceremony.
This, of course, is chiefly due to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo pretty much carving out the honour between them from 2008 to 2023.
Other multiple winners include Johan Cruyff, Marco Van Basten and Michel Platini who each were crowned on three occasions.
*Credit for the main photo in this article belongs to Adobe*
