UEFA has announced that in the upcoming season, they are going to give the Ballon d’Or award in partnership with France Football. They have officially scrapped the UEFA Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year awards.
Breaking all records this year, Lionel Messi has lifted his 8th Ballon d’Or. Having done so over the likes of future stars Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Before the 2023 Ballon d’Or Lionel Messi had 3574 points just behind Ronaldo’s 3781. But after leading Argentina to their third-ever World Cup Messi is now the player with the most Ballon d’Or points.
Lionel Messi now has a total of 4036 points. Both players are currently outside Europe and with no signs of returning, chances are the points tally will remain the same. Cristiano Ronaldo this year could not even make the cut for the 30-man shortlist of the award.
🚨Lionel Messi has crossed Cristiano Ronaldo to become the player with the most points in Ballond’or history with 4036 points! 🐐 pic.twitter.com/Ou47XBsYqW
— VizoR 🦈 (@Vizor_710) November 4, 2023
Lionel Messi is also the first player to have accumulated more than 4000 points. It is no wonder that the Argentine won the award a record number of 8 times.
Ballon d’Or points are given according to rankings provided by journalists from all around the world.
The players with the most Ballon d’Or points in history
The Ballon d’Or is an award given to the best player in the prior season. Some players over history have racked up some decent points tally
At number 10, with 550 points comes the Brazilian Kaka who won the award in 2007 after leading AC Milan to a Champions League victory. Michel Platini ranks 9th with a total of 551 points and has won the award three times in 1983, 1984, and 1985. German legend Franz Beckenbauer comes in the 7th ranking with 576 points having won the award in 1972 and 1976.
🌍 Expanding Eligibility: In 1995, the Ballon d’Or’s eligibility expanded to include players from all over the world, regardless of where they played, breaking the European-only tradition.#BallonDOr #FootballFacts #SoccerLegends pic.twitter.com/TUFx2UBXQB
— tweet insight (@tweetinsight23) October 30, 2023
Ronaldo Phenomenon is the second Brazilian on this list as, despite his short playing career, the player is the recipient of two Ballon d’Or awards in 1997 and 2002 having a total of 600 points.
Next in the ranking comes the first player so far to not win the award, Robert Lewandowski. The points tally would have placed him higher on the list if the 2020 version had not been canceled due to COVID-19.
Players with the most Ballon d’Or 🏆
8x 🇦🇷 Messi
5x 🇵🇹 Ronaldo
3x 🇳🇱 Cruyff, 🇳🇱 Van Basten, 🇫🇷 Platini#PulseSports #ballondor pic.twitter.com/X6FRy1ebhj— Pulse Ghana (@PulseGhana) October 30, 2023
Virgil Van Dijk is the second player on the list to not win the award but the defender ranks 5th with a total of 679 points. Zidane comes next having won the award in 1998 and having a total of 715 points. Luka Modric ranks third with a total of 856 points having won the award in 2018.
It is no wonder that two players who have dominated soccer in the past 15 years are at the top of the list. Having 5 Ballon d’Or Cristiano Ronaldo ranks second with 3781 points just behind record 8 times winner Lionel Messi who currently has a points tally of 4036 points. Looking at the rankings, over the years the top 10 can change but the top 2 will need some thorough challenge.