Decoding the Ballon d’Or: How the Winner Is Chosen

The Ballon d’Or, football’s most esteemed individual honor, is presented each year by France Football magazine to the player regarded as the world’s best.

The decision is made through a two‑stage voting system.

Initially, journalists from France Football and its sister publication L’Équipe collaborate to compile a combined list of 30 official nominees, drawing on players’ performances from the preceding season. Occasionally a handful of former players are also added to this list.

Next, one football journalist from each of the top 100 FIFA‑ranked nations is invited to rank their top ten players from that shortlist. Points are assigned as follows: 15 for first place, 12 for second, 10 for third, 8 for fourth, 7 for fifth, 5 for sixth, 4 for seventh, 3 for eighth, 2 for ninth, and 1 for tenth.

After all journalists submit their rankings, the points are totaled. The player with the highest total wins the Ballon d’Or, while the others are placed from second to thirtieth.

In the event of a tie on total points, the tiebreaker is the number of first‑place votes each player received. If the tie persists, second‑place votes are considered, and so on down the ranking.

Voters are asked to weigh three key criteria when making their selections:

• Individual performances that are decisive and impressive

• Team achievements and overall success

• Sportsmanship and fair play

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