The "Ballon d'or" (from French, English translation is Golden Ball) is a football award, created in 1956 by the French football magazine France Football. It is usually known in English as the European Footballer of the Year award.

The award is given annually to the player considered to have performed the best over the previous year. In order to qualify for selection, the player must have been playing for a club based within UEFA's jurisdiction. Until 1995, a player also had to be of European nationality to be eligible. Voting for the award is undertaken by a group of European football journalists.

Ballon d'or Winners

• 1956 Stanley Matthews - (Blackpool)
• 1957 Alfredo Di Stefano - (Real Madrid)
• 1958 Raymond Kopa - (Real Madrid)
• 1959 Alfredo Di Stefano - (Real Madrid)
• 1960 Luis Suarez - (F.C. Barcelona)
• 1961 Omar Sivori - (Juventus)
• 1962 Josef Masopust - (Dukla Prague)
• 1963 Lev Yashin - (Dynamo Moscow)
• 1964 Denis Law - (Manchester United)
• 1965 Eusebio - (Benfica)
• 1966 Bobby Charlton - (Manchester United)
• 1967 Florian Albert - (Ferencvaros)
• 1968 George Best - (Manchester United)
• 1969 Gianni Rivera - (A.C. Milan)
• 1970 Gerd Müller - (Bayern Munich)
• 1971 Johann Cruyff - (Ajax Amsterdam)
• 1972 Franz Beckenbauer - (Bayern Munich)
• 1973 Johann Cruyff - (Ajax Amsterdam)
• 1974 Johann Cruyff - (Ajax Amsterdam)
• 1975 Oleg Blokhin - (Dynamo Kiev)
• 1976 Franz Beckenbauer - (Bayern Munich)
• 1977 Allan Simonsen - (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
• 1978 Kevin Keegan - (Hamburger SV)
• 1979 Kevin Keegan - (Hamburger SV)
• 1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge - (Bayern Munich)
• 1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge - (Bayern Munich)
• 1982 Paolo Rossi - (Juventus)
• 1983 Michel Platini - (Juventus)
• 1984 Michel Platini - (Juventus)
• 1985 Michel Platini - (Juventus)
• 1986 Igor Belanov - (Dynamo Kiev)
• 1987 Ruud Gullit - (A.C. Milan)
• 1988 Marco van Basten - (A.C. Milan)
• 1989 Marco van Basten - (A.C. Milan)
• 1990 Lothar Matthäus - (Inter Milan)
• 1991 Jean-Pierre Papin - (Olympique Marseille)
• 1992 Marco van Basten - (A.C. Milan)
• 1993 Roberto Baggio - (Juventus)
• 1994 Hristo Stoitchkov - (F.C. Barcelona)
• 1995 George Weah - (A.C. Milan)
• 1996 Matthias Sammer - (Borussia Dortmund)
• 1997 Ronaldo - (Inter Milan)
• 1998 Zinedine Zidane - (Juventus)
• 1999 Rivaldo - (F.C. Barcelona)
• 2000 Luis Figo - (Real Madrid)
• 2001 Michael Owen - (Liverpool)
• 2002 Ronaldo - (Real Madrid)
• 2003 Pavel Nedved - (Juventus)
• 2004 Andriy Shevchenko - (A.C. Milan)

See also

• The FIFA World Player of the Year award.