How Does Ballon d'Or Voting Work? Jury, Criteria and Season
The Ballon d'Or is football's most famous individual award. It was created by the French magazine France Football in 1956, and since 2024 it has been organised together with UEFA.
Who votes?
The men's award is decided by a jury of journalists, one from each of the top 100 countries in the FIFA men's world ranking. Players, coaches and fans do not vote for the main award. The women's Ballon d'Or uses a similar jury drawn from the top-ranked women's football nations.
Between 2010 and 2015, when it merged with FIFA's award as the FIFA Ballon d'Or, national team captains and coaches also voted. That changed when the two awards split again in 2016.
How the points work
Each journalist picks their top ten players from a shortlist of 30. First place gets 15 points, second 12, third 10, fourth 8, fifth 7, then 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1. The player with the most points wins.
Which season counts?
Since 2022, the award covers the European season, from August to July, rather than a calendar year. A summer World Cup or European Championship counts towards that season's award, and the ceremony moved from December to the autumn.
The three criteria
- Individual performance and decisive impact.
- Team performance and trophies won.
- Class and fair play.
The 2022 rules also stated that a player's whole career should no longer be a factor. The award is meant to reward one season.
Record winners
Lionel Messi has won the men's Ballon d'Or a record eight times, and Cristiano Ronaldo five. Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmatí have each won the women's award multiple times. In 2024, Rodri became the first Spanish midfielder to win since Luis Suárez Miramontes in 1960, and in 2025 the award went to Ousmane Dembélé.
Other awards on the night
The ceremony also gives the Kopa Trophy for the best young player, the Yashin Trophy for the best goalkeeper, the Gerd Müller Trophy for the top scorer, and awards for the best club and coach.
Compare the two players who dominated the award for 15 years in Messi vs Ronaldo, or read our ranking of the greatest footballers of all time.