List of Ballon d’Or winners since its inception in 1956 after Harry Kane won the 2026 award on Monday.
- 1956: Stanley Matthews (England)
- 1957: Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
- 1958: Raymond Kopa (France)
- 1959: Alfredo Di Stefano (Spain)
- 1960: Luis Suarez (Spain)
- 1961: Omar Sivori (Italy)
- 1962: Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia)
- 1963: Lev Yashin (Soviet Union)
- 1964: Denis Law (Scotland)
- 1965: Eusebio (Portugal)
- 1966: Bobby Charlton (England)
- 1967: Florian Albert (Hungary)
- 1968: George Best (Northern Ireland)
- 1969: Gianni Rivera (Italy)
- 1970 - Gerd Mueller (West Germany)
- 1971: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
- 1972: Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
- 1973: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
- 1974: Johan Cruyff (Netherlands)
- 1975: Oleg Blokhin (Soviet Union)
- 1976: Franz Beckenbauer (West Germany)
- 1977: Allan Simonsen (Denmark)
- 1978: Kevin Keegan (England)
- 1979: Kevin Keegan (England)
- 1980: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
- 1981: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany)
- 1982: Paolo Rossi (Italy)
- 1983: Michel Platini (France)
- 1984: Michel Platini (France)
- 1985: Michel Platini (France)
- 1986: Igor Belanov (Soviet Union)
- 1987: Ruud Gullit (Netherlands)
- 1988: Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
- 1989: Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
- 1990: Lothar Matthaus (Germany)
- 1991: Jean-Pierre Papin (France)
- 1992: Marco van Basten (Netherlands)
- 1993: Roberto Baggio (Italy)
- 1994: Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria)
- 1995: George Weah (Liberia)
- 1996: Matthias Sammer (Germany)
- 1997: Ronaldo (Brazil)
- 1998: Zinedine Zidane (France)
- 1999: Rivaldo (Brazil)
- 2000: Luis Figo (Portugal)
- 2001: Michael Owen (England)
- 2002: Ronaldo (Brazil)
- 2003: Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic)
- 2004: Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine) 2005 - Ronaldinho (Brazil)
- 2006: Fabio Cannavaro (Italy)
- 2007: Kaka (Brazil)
- 2008 - Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
- 2009: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2010: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2011: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2012: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2013: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
- 2014: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
- 2015: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2016: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
- 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
- 2018: Luka Modric (Croatia)
- 2019: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2020: Award Cancelled (COVID-19 pandemic)
- 2021: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2022: Karim Benzema (France)
- 2023: Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- 2024: Rodri (Spain)
- 2025: Ousmane Dembele (France)
- 2026: Harry Kane (England)
- From 2010-2015 the Ballon d’Or was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year to create the FIFA Ballon d’Or award.