Virgil van Dijk and Lionel Messi are currently the favourites to succeed Luka Modric as the next Ballon d’Or winner and it will certainly be a close one after the Liverpool defender won the UEFA Player of the year award in August. This award used to be merged with the Fifa Best Player award from 2010-2015 but this changed in 2015.
When is the Ballon d’Or ceremony taking place?
The date and venue of the 2019 Ballon d’Or (which is organised by France Football) is yet to be revealed by the creators of the award.
The 2019 Ballon d’Or will be the 64th one in the history of the prestigious award, which was first given to Sir Stanley Matthews back in 1956.
Past Winners of Ballon d’Or Award
Let’s take a look at the past winners of Ballon d’Or award. From 1956 only European players were eligible for the award but in 1995, any player of any nationality (playing for a European club) is has been deemed eligible.
| YEAR | WINNER | NATIONALITY | CLUB |
| 2018 | Luka Modric (latest) | Croatia | Real Madrid |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronald | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | FC Barcelona |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | FC Barcelona |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | FC Barcelona |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | FC Barcelona |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | FC Barcelona |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | Manchester United |
| 2007 | Kaká | Brazil | AC Milan |
| 2006 | Fabio Cannavaro | Italy | Real Madrid/Juventus |
| 2005 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 2004 | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | AC Milan |
| 2003 | Pavel Nedvěd | Czech Republic | Juventus |
| 2002 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Real Madrid |
| 2001 | Michael Owen | England | Liverpool |
| 2000 | Luís Figo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| 1999 | Rivaldo | Brazil | Barcelona |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France | Juventus |
| 1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil | Inter Milan |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany | Borussia Dortmund |
| 1995 | George Weah | Liberia | AC Milan |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria | Barcelona |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy | Juventus |
| 1992 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | AC Milan |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France | Marseille |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthäus | Germany | Inter Milan |
| 1989 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | AC Milan |
| 1988 | Marco van Basten | Netherlands | AC Milan |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | Netherlands | AC Milan |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1985 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1983 | Michel Platini | France | Juventus |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy | Juventus |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | England | Hamburg |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark | Borussia Monchengladbach |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| 1970 | Gerd Müller | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | Italy | Milan |
| 1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland | Manchester United |
| 1967 | Flórián Albert | Hungary | Ferencv rosi TC |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | England | Manchester United |
| 1965 | Eusébio | Portugal | Benfica |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Scotland | Manchester United |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | Soviet Union | Dynamo Moscow |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Czechoslovakia | Dukla Prague |
| 1961 | Omar Sívori | Italy | Juventus |
| 1960 | Luis Suárez | Spain | Barcelona |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain | Real Madrid |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | France | Real Madrid |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stéfano | Spain | Real Madrid |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | England | Blackpool |