Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dominated the Ballon d’Or for over a decade, sharing the award from 2008 to 2017, even in their early years. However, as they enter the twilight of their careers, new stars, like 24-year-old Vinicius Junior, are stepping up to contend for the prestigious title.
Ronaldo claimed his first Ballon d’Or in 2008 at age 23, while Messi won his inaugural Ballon d’Or in 2009 at 22 years and 160 days. By the time Messi was 24, he had already collected three Ballon d’Or trophies, adding victories in 2010 and 2011.
The youngest-ever Ballon d’Or winner remains Ronaldo Nazario, who earned the honor at just 20 years and three months in 1996. Yet, it’s not unusual for players to wait a bit longer for their first Ballon d’Or.
According to Marca, the average age of first-time winners is 26.8 years. The oldest winner to date was Stanley Matthews, who won in 1956 at age 41, while Messi became the second-oldest in 2023, winning at 36 years and four months.
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo during the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala 2014 (Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images)
How old was Messi for each of his Ballon d’Or wins?
Messi set a record with four consecutive Ballon d’Or wins from 2009 (at age 22) to 2012 (age 25). He won his fifth in 2015 at age 28, then claimed his sixth in 2019 at age 32. His seventh win came in 2021 at age 34, followed by an eighth in 2023, when he was 36.
see also
Vinicius sends strong message after Real Madrid fans racially abuse Barcelona gem Lamine Yamal
How old was Ronaldo for each of his Ballon d’Or wins?
Ronaldo’s first Ballon d’Or came in 2008 at age 23. He didn’t win again until 2013, when he was 28, and then again in 2014 at age 29. He secured his fourth Ballon d’Or in 2016 at age 31 and his fifth in 2017 at age 32.
All the ages of Ballon d’Or winners
- 1956 – Stanley Matthews (41)
- 1957 – Alfredo di Stefano (31)
- 1958 – Raymond Kopa (27)
- 1959 – Alfredo di Stefano (33)
- 1960 – Luis Suarez (25)
- 1961 – Omar Sívori (26)
- 1962 – Josef Masopust (31)
- 1963 – Lev Yashin (34)
- 1964 – Denis Law (24)
- 1965 – Eusebio (23)
- 1966 – Bobby Charlton (29)
- 1967 – Flórián Albert (26)
- 1968 – George Best (22)
- 1969 – Gianni Rivera (26)
- 1970 – Gerd Müller (25)
- 1971 – Johan Cruyff (24)
- 1972 – Franz Beckenbauer (27)
- 1973 – Johan Cruyff (26)
- 1974 – Johan Cruyff (27)
- 1975 – Oleg Blojín (23)
- 1976 – Franz Beckenbauer (31)
- 1977 – Allan Simonsen (25)
- 1978 – Kevin Keegan (27)
- 1979 – Kevin Keegan (28)
- 1980 – Rummenigge (25)
- 1981 – Rummenigge (26)
- 1982 – Paolo Rossi (26)
- 1983 – Michel Platini (28)
- 1984 – Michel Platini (29)
- 1985 – Michel Platini (30)
- 1986 – Igor Belánov (26)
- 1987 – Ruud Gullit (25)
- 1988 – Marco van Basten (24)
- 1989 – Marco van Basten (25)
- 1990 – Lothar Matthäus (29)
- 1991 – Jean-Pierre Papin (28)
- 1992 – Marco van Basten (28)
- 1993 – Roberto Baggio (26)
- 1994 – Hristo Stoichkov (28)
- 1995 – George Weah (29)
- 1996 – Matthias Sammer (29)
- 1997 – Ronaldo Nazário (21)
- 1998 – Zinedine Zidane (26)
- 1999 – Rivaldo (27)
- 2000 – Luis Figo (28)
- 2001 – Michael Owen (22)
- 2002 – Ronaldo Nazário (26)
- 2003 – Pavel Nedved (31)
- 2004 – Andriy Shevchenko (28)
- 2005 – Ronaldinho (25)
- 2006 – Fabio Cannavaro (33)
- 2007 – Kaká (25)
- 2008 – Cristiano Ronaldo (23)
- 2009 – Lionel Messi (22)
- 2010 – Lionel Messi (23)
- 2011 – Lionel Messi (24)
- 2012 – Lionel Messi (25)
- 2013 – Cristiano Ronaldo (28)
- 2014 – Cristiano Ronaldo (29)
- 2015 – Lionel Messi (28)
- 2016 – Cristiano Ronaldo (31)
- 2017 – Cristiano Ronaldo (32)
- 2018 – Luka Modric (33)
- 2019 – Lionel Messi (32)
- 2020 – There wasn’t award.
- 2021 – Lionel Messi (34)
- 2022 – Karim Benzema (34)
- 2023 – Lionel Messi (36)
