The Ballon d'Or stands as football's most coveted individual honour, handed out each year by France Football magazine to the player judged to be the finest on the planet. Yet the mechanics behind selecting a winner remain a mystery to many supporters, relying on a two-stage voting process that has evolved considerably since the prize's inception.
The process begins with journalists from France Football, working alongside sister publication L'Equipe, compiling a shortlist of 30 nominees. This selection is based on standout displays from the preceding campaign, and on rare occasions has included former players alongside those still active in the game.
Once the shortlist is finalised, the voting shifts to a global scale. A single football journalist representing each of the top 100 nations in the FIFA rankings is asked to rank their top 10 choices from the list of nominees. Points are distributed according to where each player lands on that list: 15 for first place, 12 for second, 10 for third, followed by 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and finally 1 point for tenth.
After every ballot has been submitted, the points are added up, with the player accumulating the highest total crowned the winner. The remaining nominees are then ordered from second through to thirtieth based on their tallies. Should a deadlock occur, the deciding factor becomes the number of first-place votes a player received, and if that fails to separate them, the count moves down to second-place votes, and so forth.
Journalists casting their votes are asked to weigh three separate criteria: the individual quality and impact of a player's performances, the success achieved by their team, and their overall conduct and sportsmanship on the pitch.
The format of the award has shifted dramatically across its history. Launched in 1956, it was initially restricted to European players only, a rule that held until 1995. For the subsequent 12 years, eligibility widened to include any player of any nationality provided they turned out for a European club. It was not until 2007 that the award truly became global, opening up to footballers from anywhere in the world regardless of where they played their club football.
Between 2007 and 2015, the voting panel was expanded to include national team captains and coaches, rather than journalists alone, though that arrangement has since reverted back to press-only voting, both before and after that eight-year window. A separate chapter in the award's history came between 2010 and 2015, when FIFA partnered with France Football, rebranding the prize as the FIFA Ballon d'Or before the two organisations went their separate ways. FIFA now runs its own competing honour, the FIFA Best award, though the Ballon d'Or's longer heritage means it continues to carry greater prestige in the eyes of most observers.
Another notable change came in 2022, when the voting period switched from a calendar year, which had typically spanned parts of two different club seasons, to instead cover one complete season in full.
Despite its standing, the award frequently attracts scrutiny. A recurring criticism is its apparent bias toward attacking players, with only two defenders, Franz Beckenbauer and Fabio Cannavaro, and a solitary goalkeeper, Lev Yashin, having ever lifted the trophy throughout its history. Voters have also been accused of over-rewarding team success, such as Champions League or World Cup triumphs, at the expense of individuals who excelled despite less trophy-laden campaigns. Others question the legitimacy of a system that hands the decision to journalists rather than players, managers, or former professionals. And for a portion of fans, the very notion of crowning one standout individual in what is fundamentally a team sport undermines the award's significance altogether.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.