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Ballon d’Or: Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and all the others to have won the prestigious award in the past

The 66th Ballon d'Or is set to be awarded this evening (Monday, October 17) in Paris, with many players hoping to follow in the footsteps of icons such as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is the red-hot favorite to win football's most prestigious individual honor. The French forward scored 44 times in 46 appearances across competitions as Los Blancos secured a La Liga and Champions League double last term.

Good morning from Paris! 👋🇫🇷

Today is the day... #ballondor https://t.co/WRfC98iGoU

This year's prize is the first in history to be awarded for performances over a season rather than in a calendar year. The Ballon d'Or is being awarded much earlier than usual, with the upcoming FIFA World Cup set to take place later in the year.

Lionel Messi is the current record holder in terms of how many times he has won the award, with seven wins in total. He has won the past two Ballon d'Ors, although the prize was not given out in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The award will certainly leave Messi's grasp this evening, as the Paris Saint-Germain forward has not even been nominated for the historic trophy. Cristiano Ronaldo is second on the list of wins with five and although the Manchester United striker has been nominated this year, it is unlikely he will win it.

Luka Modric of Real Madrid and Croatia is the only man the past 14 years not named Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi to win the Ballon d'Or. Robert Lewandowski, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are among the favorites to win in Paris, but are unlikely to be chosen ahead of Benzema.

🥇 Who's your pick for the 2022 Ballon d'Or?

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List of previous Ballon d'Or winners with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way

Since the Ballon d'Or's inception in 1956, Messi and Ronaldo have won nearly 20% of all the titles. Below is a list of every winner of the prize, from Sir Stanley Matthews in 1956, to Messi in 2021:

YearWinnerClubNation
1956Sir Stanley MatthewsBlackpoolEngland
1957Alfredo Di StefanoReal MadridSpain
1958Raymond KopaReal MadridFrance
1959Alfredo Di StefanoReal MadridSpain
1960Luis SuarezBarcelonaSpain
1961Omar SivoriJuventusItaly
1962Josef MasopustDukla PragueCzechoslovakia
1963Lev YashinDynamo MoscowUSSR
1964Dennis LawManchester UnitedScotland
1965EusebioBenficaPortugal
1966Sir Bobby CharltonManchester UnitedEngland
1967Florian AlbertFerencvaros
Hungary
1968George BestManchester UnitedNorthern Ireland
1969Gianni RiveraAC MilanItaly
1970Gerd MullerBayern MunichWest Germany
1971Johan CruyffAjaxNetherlands
1972Franz BeckenbauerBayern MunichWest Germany
1973Johan CruyffBarcelonaNetherlands
1974Johan CruyffBarcelonaNetherlands
1975Oleg BlokhinDynamo KyivUSSR
1976Franz BeckenbauerBayern MunichWest Germany
1977Allan SimonsenBorussia MonchengladbachWest Germany
1978Kevin KeeganHamburger SVEngland
1979Kevin KeeganHamburger SVEngland
1980Karl-Heinz RummeniggeBayern MunichWest Germany
1981Karl-Heinz RummeniggeBayern MunichWest Germany
1982Paolo RossiJuventusItaly
1983Michel PlatiniJuventusFrance
1984Michel PlatiniJuventusFrance
1985Michel PlatiniJuventusFrance
1986Igor BelanovDynamo KyivUSSR
1987Ruud GullitAC MilanNetherlands
1988Marco van BastenAC MilanNetherlands
1989Marco van BastenAC MilanNetherlands
1990Lothar MatthausInter MilanWest Germany
1991Jean-Pierre PapinMarseilleFrance
1992Marco van BastenAC MilanNetherlands
1993Roberto BaggioJuventusItaly
1994Hristo StoichkovBarcelonaBulgaria
1995George WeahAC MilanLiberia
1996Matthias SammerBorussia DortmundGermany
1997RonaldoInter MilanBrazil
1998Zinedine ZidaneJuventusFrance
1999RivaldoBarcelonaBrazil
2000Luis FigoReal MadridPortugal
2001Michael OwenLiverpoolEngland
2002RonaldoReal MadridBrazil
2003Pavel NedvedJuventusCzech Republic
2004Andriy ShevchenkoAC MilanUkraine
2005RonaldinhoBarcelonaBrazil
2006Fabio CannavaroReal MadridItaly
2007KakaAC MilanBrazil
2008Cristiano RonaldoManchester UnitedPortugal
2009Lionel MessiBarcelonaArgentina
2010Lionel MessiBarcelonaArgentina
2011Lionel MessiBarcelonaArgentina
2012Lionel MessiBarcelonaArgentina
2013Cristiano RonaldoReal MaridPortugal
2014Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridPortugal
2015Lionel MessiBarcelonaArgentina
2016Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridPortugal
2017Cristiano RonaldoReal MadridPortugal
2018Luka ModricReal MadridCroatia
2019Lionel MessiBarcelonaArgentina
2020N/AN/AN/A
2021Lionel MessiPSGArgentina
🔝1️⃣0️⃣ Throwback

Take a look at the 2021 Ballon d'Or ranking!

#ballondor https://t.co/LnfwIzUPwG

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