The voting process for the Ballon d’Or has changed a lot over the years.
Upon its inception in 1956, the recipient of world football’s most esteemed individual award was originally voted for by only 16 journalists, who simply took players’ performances over the previous calendar year into account.
Now, 100 journalists, each of whom represents one of FIFA’s 100 top-ranked footballing nations, vote for the winner. According to UEFA, they vote based on the following from the previous season:
Individual performances, decisive and impressive character Team performances and achievements Class and fair play Ballon d'Or past winners: The best XI of former champions
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Each journalist votes for 10 players in total, ranking them from highest to lowest, with players then receiving 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point respectively. The winner of the Ballon d’Or is the player who receives the most points.
It can get a little complicated, especially if you want to work out which players in history have won the most Ballon d’Or points.
Fear not, however, because we’ve used the lists of each year’s Ballon d’Or placings to crunch the numbers. Here, we’ve listed the 15 players with the most Ballon d’Or voting points, some of whom may surprise you.
Rank
Player
Voting points
Ballon d’Or best
Lionel Messi
12,620
Winner (x8)
Cristiano Ronaldo
10,374
Winner (x5)
Andres Iniesta
1,760
2nd (2010)
Xavi
1,513
3rd (x3)
Franck Ribery
1,154
3rd (2013)
Neymar
1,148
3rd (2015, 2017)
Robert Lewandowski
1,084
2nd (2021)
Kylian Mbappe
897
3rd (2023)
Karim Benzema
882
Winner (2022)
Luka Modric
877
Winner (2018)
Manuel Neuer
870
3rd (2014)
Virgil van Dijk
680
2nd (2019)
Antoine Griezmann
642
3rd (2016, 2018)
Mohamed Salah
616
5th (2019, 2022)
Wesley Sneijder
599
4th (2010)
15 Wesley Sneijder 599 points
One of the finest Dutch midfielders of all time, Wesley Sneijder enjoyed a stellar career during which he enjoyed successful spells with Ajax, Real Madrid, Inter and Galatasaray.
He’s perhaps best remembered for his time at Inter, where he spent four seasons and won the Champions League in 2010 under the guidance of Jose Mourinho.
Sneijder’s highest Ballon d’Or finish came in that treble-winning year when he finished fourth behind Barcelona trio Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Lionel Messi.
14 Mohamed Salah 616 points
Mohamed Salah has been one of world football’s most outstanding players since joining Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017. In 361 games for the Reds, he’s scored 218 goals, helping the club win the Champions League, the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and a first-ever Premier League title.
Salah’s highest finish in the Ballon d’Or award is 5th, which he achieved in both 2019 and 2022.
13 Antoine Griezmann 642 points
One of this generation’s most criminally underrated stars, Antoine Griezmann has spent his entire domestic career in Spain, scoring 272 goals in just over 15 seasons for Real Sociedad, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.
For his country, he boasts an equally impressive record, with the Frenchman having notched 44 goals in 137 games for Les Bleus.
Griezmann has finished third in the Ballon d’Or on two separate occasions, first in 2016 and then in 2018.
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ByStephan Georgiou 12 Virgil van Dijk 680 points
Only three defenders in history – Franz Beckenbauer, Matthias Sammer and Fabio Cannavaro – have ever won the Ballon d’Or, but Virgil van Dijk came close to becoming the fourth in 2019 when he finished a close second behind Messi.
That year, the Dutchman lost out to the Argentine by only seven points, which is the smallest winning margin since the turn of the century. All bar one of his Ballon d’Or points came in this year.
Since moving to Liverpool in 2018, Van Dijk has established himself as one of the world’s finest central defenders, helping the Reds win the Champions League and a clean sweep of domestic honours.
11 Manuel Neuer 870 points
Bayern Munich and Germany legend Manuel Neuer is widely regarded as the best “sweeper-keeper” of all time thanks to his daring yet successful style of play, which often sees him run out of his box to clear up opposition attacks.
Now 38, he’s won no less than 29 major honours during his career, including 11 Bundesliga titles, two Champions Leagues, and the World Cup. Neuer placed third in the Ballon d’Or in 2014, but becoming world champion was not enough to see him crowned champion.
10 Luka Modric 877 points
Luka Modric is the lowest-placed Ballon d’Or winner in the top 15.
The Croatian midfielder scooped the award in 2018 following a stellar year with Real Madrid and Croatia, which saw Los Blancos win the Champions League for the third consecutive season and Croatia finish runners-up at the World Cup.
Now 39, he’s still going strong for club and country.
9 Karim Benzema 882 points
Another past Ballon d’Or winner, Karim Benzema won the award in 2022 with a score of 549 points – 356 points ahead of second-placed Sadio Mane.
Benzema’s win came after he scored 44 goals for Real Madrid during the 2021/22 season, helping the club win La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, and the Champions League.
He was due to be part of the France squad that finished as runners-up at the 2022 World Cup, though he did not play in the tournament due to injury.
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Aged just 25, Kylian Mbappe has already enjoyed an astonishing career.
In 467 games for club and country, he’s scored 344 goals and has won 19 major honours, including six Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain and the 2018 World Cup with France.
Mbappe finished third in the Ballon d’Or last year, and having completed a high-profile move to Real Madrid in the summer, it feels like it’s only a matter of time before he adds the golden ball to his collection.
7 Robert Lewandowski 1,084 points
Despite his huge points total, Robert Lewandowski has never won the Ballon d’Or, having been, in the eyes of many, robbed of the prize on two occasions.
In 2020, after a stunning season in which he scored no less than 55 goals in all competitions for Champions League winners Bayern Munich, the award was cancelled due to the pandemic.
The Pole put up equally impressive numbers the following year, scoring 48 goals, but was controversially snubbed in favour of Messi, who had endured a hit-and-miss first season with PSG following his departure from Barcelona.
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ByJack Salveson Holmes 6 Neymar 1,148 points
Neymar has twice finished third in the Ballon d’Or, first in 2015 and 2017. Despite never winning it, the Brazilian is still widely regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation.
In spells with Santos, Barcelona, PSG and Al-Hilal, Neymar has 360 goals in 590 games, winning a host of honours, including the Champions League in 2015.
He’s also Brazil’s all-time top scorer, having notched 79 goals in 128 games for his country.
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