₦airaland Forum

For over a decade, football’s brightest stars have battled not just on the pitch, but in the race for the ultimate individual accolade: the Ballon d’Or. From Messi’s relentless mastery to Dembélé’s breakthrough, and Bonmatí’s historic reign in women’s football, the award doesn’t just crown talent, it tells the story of eras, dynasties, and the shifting power of clubs and nations in world football.

MEN'S BALLON D'OR WINNERS — OVER 10 EDITIONS

Club/Country
2025 — 🇫🇷/🇫🇷Ousmane Dembele
2024 — 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿/🇪🇸RodriSpain
2023 — 🇪🇸/🇦🇷Lionel Messi
2022 — 🇪🇸/🇫🇷Karim Benzema
2021 — 🇫🇷/🇦🇷Lionel Messi
2020not awarded
2019 — 🇪🇸/🇦🇷Lionel Messi
2018 — 🇭🇷/🇪🇸Luka Modric
2017 — 🇪🇸/🇵🇹Cristiano Ronaldo
2016 — 🇪🇸/🇵🇹Cristiano Ronaldo
2015 — 🇪🇸/🇦🇷Lionel Messi

https://x.com/StatiSense/status/1970452704196538399

FEMALE BALLON D'OR WINNERS — LAST 10 EDITIONS

Club/Country
2025 — 🇪🇸/🇪🇸Aitana Bonmatí
2024 — 🇪🇸/🇪🇸Aitana Bonmatí
2023 — 🇪🇸/🇪🇸Aitana Bonmatí
2022 — 🇪🇸/🇪🇸Alexia Putellas
2021 — 🇪🇸/🇪🇸Alexia Putellas
2020 —Not awarded
2019 — 🇺🇸/🇺🇸Megan Rapinoe
2018 — 🇫🇷/🇳🇴Ada Hegerberg
https://x.com/StatiSense/status/1970455756315963725
#Statisense

How come we don't hear about the female counterparts.

May take up to a 100 years before we see 2góats in the calibre of Messi & Ronaldo grace the football stage again.

More talents in the game of football will definitely come up.....

Even counting to ten years back, KING MESSI still shines brightest. Just give it to the GOAT!

GanagiBitrus:
Please spell words correctly when you post, and try to use perfect grammar and punctuation.

nairaland English master easy easy

no more trill in the game, this award alone was a talking point when football still hold its grip on everyone, too much money in the game, increased gambling, and lack of raw talent has made the game ordinary

Please spell words correctly when you post, and try to use perfect grammar and punctuation.

Congratulations to them

As the saying goes: You walk with many, run with a few and fly alone.

They should just give Robert Lewandowski that 2020 own...

He killed that year, although it was a strange year...

One of the best strikers ever made.

Politics don spoil this award. Every year different criteria used to give award.

One year they tell u trophy is all that matters, and their year they tell u goals. Too many inconsistency. Since the year Sniejder was robbed, I lost interest in the award.

Ballon d'or is a fraudulent award. About 4 out of the 10 winners listed up there did not deserve to win it. Lewandoski, Vinicious Jnr, Wesley Sneidjer etc were robbed

AITANA BONMATI

that's a very big name but no much publicity from the football press about women doing great things in the game.

AllBlack:
AITANA BONMATI

that's a very big name but no much publicity from the football press about women doing great things in the game.

Women football is horrible to watch. Only Bayern Munich, Manchester w, Chelsea w, man u w and arsenal w plays reasonable football (tho still wack sometimes, but they bang goals). The rest are just straight up horrible to watch.

This year the recipient in the male category national and club were the same

Mandate1:
Politics don spoil this award. Every year different criteria used to give award.

One year they tell u trophy is all that matters, and their year they tell u goals. Too many inconsistency. Since the year Sniejder was robbed, I lost interest in the award.

And I lost interest the year Ribery was robbed

richiemcgold:
Ballon d'or is a fraudulent award. About 4 out of the 10 winners listed up there did not deserve to win it. Lewandoski, Vinicious Jnr, Wesley Sneidjer etc were robbed

They were not robbed, it's voted and the results displayed.
Let's assume I voted for like Rodrigo, how does that mean I robbed Vini? How exactly did I rob Vini?

Kingosytex:
They were not robbed, it's voted and the results displayed.
Let's assume I voted for like Rodrigo, how does that mean I robbed Vini? How exactly did I rob Vini?

The votes were made by some few selected journalists. If the votes were made by football fans worldwide, many of those past winners wouldn't have won.

richiemcgold:
The votes were made by some few selected journalists. If the votes were made by football fans worldwide, many of those past winners wouldn't have won.

We're saying the same thing. Does it mean that those journalists who voted Vini robbed the other candidates and vice versa?

GanagiBitrus:
May take up to a 100 years before we see 2góats in the calibre of Messi & Ronaldo grace the football stage again.

Lamina Yamal is already here. The teen raw talent

Kingosytex:
We're saying the same thing. Does it mean that those journalists who voted Vini robbed the other candidates and vice versa?

Journalists are not supposed to decide the winners at all. Let football fans vote and decide, not journalists. It is then the real best player in the world won't be robbed.

Lanre1st:
Lamina Yamal is already here. The teen raw talent

He has the talent but I don't see him as having the discipline needed to attain or surpass Messi or Ronaldo.
Moreover I'm talking of 2goats.

Lanre1st:
Lamina Yamal is already here. The teen raw talent

He has the talent but I don't see him as having the discipline needed to attain or surpass Messi or Ronaldo.
The guy too like groove.

Moreover I'm talking of 2goats.

richiemcgold:
Journalists are not supposed to decide the winners at all. Let football fans vote and decide, not journalists. It is then the real best player in the world won't be robbed.

The journalists are also football fans and we're saying same thing.
If I vote Vini, how does it mean I robbed Rodrigo?

This award makes no sense again. So many greate players were robbed.

Wesley Sneijder
Franck Ribery
Lewandoski
Vinicious Jr
Xavi
Haaland

Uchesis:
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And I lost interest the year Ribery was robbed

God bless u Chief. Jealousy wey dey Pendu fans body no be here ..

richiemcgold:
Journalists are not supposed to decide the winners at all. Let football fans vote and decide, not journalists. It is then the real best player in the world won't be robbed.

This sounds ridiculous.. From the way you sound you are a Ronaldo fan, now ask yourself and your fellow millions Ronaldo fans if they would ever vote for Messi even if Messi comprehensively outperformed him and everybody. Vise versa to us Messi fans too. We wouldn't ever vote Ronaldo.

Fans votes will always be influenced by emotions favoritism, religion, love for their fellow countryman, love for a player from the club they support. It's basically like expecting Seyi Tinubu or Mc Oluomo to vote for Peter Obi even if it's absolutely glaring to everyone that Peter Obi is the best candidate. Also, It's basically like expecting very strong Obidients and Peter Obi household members to vote for Tinubu even if It's absolutely glaring that he's the best candidate.

I'm not saying the journalists and National team captains don't exhibit those characters above but it's very minimal compared to fans.

And lastly the most glaring robbery in the recent history of the award is not Messi on Sneijder, it's Ronaldo on Ribery

Any decision based on voting can never be fair. If there are fixed criteria used, then it will be better and also there's no ideal situation. Rest and enjoy the game

internationalman:
This sounds ridiculous.. From the way you sound you are a Ronaldo fan, now ask yourself and your fellow millions Ronaldo fans if they would ever vote for Messi even if Messi comprehensively outperformed him and everybody. Vise versa to us Messi fans too. We wouldn't ever vote Ronaldo.

Fans votes will always be influenced by emotions favoritism, religious, love for their fellow countryman, love for a player from the club they support. It's basically like expecting Seyi Tinubu or Mc Oluomo to vote for Peter Obi even if it's absolutely glaring to everyone that Peter Obi is the best candidate. Also, It's basically like expecting very strong Obidients and Peter Obi household members to vote for Tinubu even if It's absolutely glaring that he's the best candidate.

I'm not saying the journalists and Nationl team captains don't exhibit those characters above but it's very minimal compared to fans.

And lastly the most glaring robbery in the recent history of the award is not Messi on Sneijder, it's Ronaldo on Ribery

Thank you for this submission.. Giving fans all over the world the right to vote the Ballon Dor winner should be the biggest joke of the millennium.

If that should happen, even though I naturally prefer Ronaldo to Messi because of his work ethics despite being less naturally talented, do not be surprised that Ronaldo might have won this year edition despite not having any tangible achievements to even be shortlisted..

That is how powerful the messianic complex is which an average football fan is suffering from. The biggest mistake any football decision making body would make is to hand over that kind of crucial decision to a mob being ruled by their emotions and passion.

It would definitely turn into a game of who has got the biggest fan base and not their performance or achievements during the period under review.

It is the same psychological reason why some citizens would still vote for Tinubu despite becoming poorer under his government and some voting Peter Obi despite leaving Anambra poorer than he met it.

GanagiBitrus:
May take up to a 100 years before we see 2góats in the calibre of Messi & Ronaldo grace the football stage again.

Stop attaching Ronaldo to Messi, they're not levels, Ronaldo is lucky he's playing in the time of Messi which makes him work harder, Messi has no comparison

MrGerald:
Stop attaching Ronaldo to Messi, they're not levels, Ronaldo is lucky he's playing in the time of Messi which makes him work harder, Messi has no comparison

I'm not comparing the two.
Same way you view Messi as the greatest, same way others view Ronaldo. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.

But the undeniable fact is that both of them made huge impacts to the game, & it will take a long time to get a player, talk-less of 2players, that will make similar impact as either of them.