Ballon d’Or not decided by World Cup alone, organisers clarify award criteria

France Football has clarified that winning the FIFA World Cup is not enough on its own to secure the Ballon d’Or, insisting the award is presented to the player judged to have been the best over the entire season.

With the 2026 World Cup ongoing across Canada, Mexico and the United States, the magazine revisited the relationship between football’s biggest team prize and its most prestigious individual honour.

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Historically, several World Cup winners, including Bobby Charlton, Paolo Rossi, Lothar Matthäus, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo and Fabio Cannavaro, completed the World Cup and Ballon d’Or double in the same year.

However, that pattern has changed in recent years. In 2010, Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or despite Spain claiming the World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo took the award in 2014 ahead of World Cup-winning goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. Luka Modrić also claimed the prize in 2018 after leading Croatia to the World Cup final.

The double returned in 2022 when Messi inspired Argentina to World Cup glory before winning the Ballon d’Or.

According to France Football, only four of the seven World Cup-winning players since 1995 have gone on to win the Ballon d’Or in the same year, representing a success rate of 57 per cent.

The publication concluded that while World Cup performances remain important, the decisive factor is a player’s overall performance throughout the season.

“To win the coveted award, you need to have been the best player of the season,” the magazine stated.