For many years, his Super Ballon d'Or trophy was on display at the Real Madrid museum at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, but in 2021, Di Stéfano's children auctioned off his memorabilia. The trophy was among the items sold to an anonymous buyer for £187,500, and its current location is unknown.
Only if a football player has achieved truly legendary status, winning every accolade at an individual level and with the team, he should be considered for the award.
While the Ballon d'Or is an award that's been won only by very few footballers, the Super Ballon d'Or is an even more exclusive accolade. France Football has only handed out the award once, in 1989. The prize sought to honour the finest men's player of the previous three decades.
There is only one real candidate for the next Super Ballon d'Or, and that is Lionel Messi. The Argentine has pretty much won everything there is to in world football, so this insanely prestigious award would be the icing on the cake for the little magician.
It doesn't appear that there is any prize money directly associated with the Ballon d'Or. However, its recipients do tend to pocket bonus cheques agreed as part of their contracts with clubs and sponsors.
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the highest recipients of the Ballon d'Or award. He is the only player behind Messi with the most trophies, which currently stands at five.
In the football world there are two main individual awards that are considered to be the top tier: the Ballon d'Or and FIFA's The Best.
The Ballon d'Or takes the form of a golden ball, while FIFA's The Best is a platinum trophy that resembles a smaller version of the World Cup.
The trophy, which is designed by French jewelling house Mellerio dits Meller, was first presented in 1956. The gold plated trophy has a height of 28 centimetres and weighs 12 kilograms. It is engraved with the FIFA Ballon d'Or logo and is estimated to be worth €508,000 (Rs 4 crore approx), per Sportskeeda.
The Super Ballon d'Or is the name of a former prize that was awarded on 24 December 1989, by the French football magazine France Football for the best football player of the last three decades. So far, the award has only been given out once - making it possibly the rarest accolade a footballer can achieve.
Rather than being voted for by players, coaches and media as The Best awards are, the Ballon d'Or voting is solely undertaken by journalists. At the 2022 Ballon d'Or, 100 journalists from FIFA's top 100 nations selected their top five players from the 30-player shortlist that had previously been decided.
As of June 2023, this award has only been given once, to Spanish-Argentine forward Alfredo Di Stéfano. The award was voted between multiple-time Ballon d'Or winners. The winner of the award was voted by viewers and readers, a panel of France Football judges, and former Ballon d'Or winners.
Messi is the most popular candidate thanks to his performances at the FIFA World Cup 2022. The Argentine attacker is frequently recognised as the best player in football history. Like his rival Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo is regarded by many as the best football player to ever play the game.
Made with two brass plates that are soldered together to create the shape of a ball, the trophy is filled with a wax-like material and, on the outside, is bathed in gold.
The winners of the FIFA Ballon d'Or were chosen by international journalists and the coaches and captains of the national teams under FIFA's jurisdiction.
Fifa, football's governing body, hosts The Best Fifa Football Awards, while France Football magazine runs the Ballon d'Or.
Lionel Messi has won the award a record seven times, followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with five. Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten. With seven awards each, Dutch, German, Argentine, Portuguese and French players have won the most Ballons d'Or.
Who is better Messi Or Ronaldo? Ronaldo has scored a record number of international goals and appearances, but Messi has won more Ballon d'Or awards (7). Messi has spent most of his playing career in Spain and France, while Ronaldo has played in Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy.
Messi has been named the Ballon d'Or/FIFA Ballon d'Or winner seven times- 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2021.
Al Nassr forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, has sold his 2013 Ballon d'Or award to the richest man in Israel, Idan Ofer. The plaque was auctioned off for charity and fetched a price of around £532,000 for the Make-A-Wish foundation.
Why can t Ronaldo win Ballon d or 2023? Well, there's a lot that comes in when it comes to how players make the final list. Firstly, the trophy is handed to a player who acquired the highest points (votes). So for Cristiano Ronaldo, it boils down to his nomination in the initial 30-man list.
#1 Erling Haaland
His 2022/23 campaign at Etihad was full of individual achievements as he became the top goalscorer both in the Premier League and in the Champions League. He also marked his name as the Premier League Player of the season.
Who has won the Golden Ballon d'Or? Diego Armando Maradona received the Golden Ballon d'Or, which also honoured players from outside of Europe, in 1995.