Awards by year
Every Ballon d'Or from 2007 onwards. And where Messi and Ronaldo finished.
The wins are the headline. The top-three appearances are the under-told story — across a decade, the two of them were essentially the entire podium.
Top-3 finishes · Messi
14 / 17
82% of years
Shared podium years
11 / 17
65% of years
Top-3 finishes · Ronaldo
12 / 17
71% of years
| Year | Winner | Messi | Ronaldo | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Kaká · AC Milan | 3rd | 2nd | |
| 2008 | Cristiano Ronaldo · Manchester United | 2nd | 🏆 1st | |
| 2009 | Lionel Messi · Barcelona | 🏆 1st | 2nd | |
| 2010 | Lionel Messi · Barcelona | 🏆 1st | — | Iniesta 2nd, Xavi 3rd; Ronaldo finished 6th. |
| 2011 | Lionel Messi · Barcelona | 🏆 1st | 2nd | |
| 2012 | Lionel Messi · Barcelona | 🏆 1st | 2nd | |
| 2013 | Cristiano Ronaldo · Real Madrid | 2nd | 🏆 1st | |
| 2014 | Cristiano Ronaldo · Real Madrid | 2nd | 🏆 1st | |
| 2015 | Lionel Messi · Barcelona | 🏆 1st | 2nd | |
| 2016 | Cristiano Ronaldo · Real Madrid | 2nd | 🏆 1st | |
| 2017 | Cristiano Ronaldo · Real Madrid | 2nd | 🏆 1st | |
| 2018 | Luka Modrić · Real Madrid | — | 2nd | Griezmann 3rd; Messi finished 5th. |
| 2019 | Lionel Messi · Barcelona | 🏆 1st | 3rd | |
| 2020 | Cancelled | — | — | Award was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. |
| 2021 | Lionel Messi · Paris Saint-Germain | 🏆 1st | — | Lewandowski 2nd, Jorginho 3rd; Ronaldo finished 6th. |
| 2022 | Karim Benzema · Real Madrid | — | — | Mané 2nd, De Bruyne 3rd; both Messi and Ronaldo finished outside the top 10. |
| 2023 | Lionel Messi · Inter Miami | 🏆 1st | — | Haaland 2nd, Mbappé 3rd; Ronaldo not shortlisted for the first time since 2003. |
| 2024 | Rodri · Manchester City | — | — | Vinícius Jr 2nd; neither Messi nor Ronaldo on the 30-man shortlist. |
The ten-year run, in one sentence
From 2008 to 2017, the Ballon d'Or went to one of two players — every single year, no exceptions. Both of them sat top-three in nine of those ten years (2010 is the only break, when Iniesta and Xavi joined Messi on the podium and Ronaldo finished sixth). That two-player chokehold on the world's most prestigious individual award is the longest in the trophy's nearly-70-year history, and by some distance the cleanest single statistic for explaining why the rivalry mattered.
Frequently asked
How many years did Messi and Ronaldo share the Ballon d'Or podium?+
Eight: 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 — every year between 2008 and 2017 except 2010 (when Iniesta and Xavi joined Messi on the podium).
Has anyone else won the Ballon d'Or between 2008 and 2017?+
No. Every Ballon d'Or from 2008 through 2017 — ten in a row — was won by either Messi or Ronaldo. It is the longest two-player run on a major award in football history.
When did the Messi-Ronaldo Ballon d'Or era end?+
2018, when Luka Modrić won. Modrić's victory was the first Ballon d'Or in a decade not won by Messi or Ronaldo. Messi then won in 2019, 2021 and 2023; Ronaldo has not been shortlisted since 2022.
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