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.
Created by France Football in 1956, the Ballon d'Or is generally regarded as soccer's most prestigious award. Blackpool and England's Stanley Matthews was its first winner, while Lionel Messi is the current holder.
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.
While the Ballon d'Or is famously given out by French football publication France Football, The Best is an award handed out by football's global governing body FIFA.
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.
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.
Until now, it was France Football that recognised merit in a calendar year, while FIFA rewarded the season. Well, the Ballon d'Or on this occasion is awarded for what was done in the past season and The Best will include the World Cup in Qatar to decide the winner.
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.
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.
That's because, after he took home the award after the 2014/15 season, he claimed that the Golden Shoe is "the best award out there" - better than the Ballon d'Or. "The competition for the Golden Shoe also comes from other leagues," Ronaldo told De Telegraaf.
There have been 10 different winners of the Golden Ball with Lionel Messi becoming the first man to win the award twice after leading Argentina to glory at Qatar 2022.
It was first awarded in 1956. The most recent winner was Real Madrid's Karim Benzemais in 2022.
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.
How much prize money do Ballon d'Or winners get? 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.
It is engraved with the FIFA Ballon d'Or logo and is estimated to be worth €508,000 (Rs 4 crore approx), per Sportskeeda. This year, Real Madrid captain and French forward Karim Benzema was awarded the Ballon d'Or award. Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or a record seven times.
There are other claims to the record; the Guinness World Records credits Pelé as the scorer of the "most career goals", with 1,279, and Brazilian striker Romário celebrated scoring what he claimed was his 1,000th goal in 2007 but later admitted his tally included friendly matches; they are reported to have scored 767 ...
The Super Ballon d'Or is probably the rarest trophy in all of football and we can explain exactly what the award is and reveal past winners. The Ballon d'Or Award is the world's most prestigious individual sporting award. The award, created by France Football (owned by the L'Équipe Group), has been awarded since 1956.
The Ballon d'Or, or "Golden Ball" in French, is the most prestigious individual award in world football, recognizing the best male and female player around the globe.
The youngest players to win the award
Ronaldo remains the youngest at 21 years and 92 days old, followed by Michael Owen, another former Real Madrid star, at 22 years and 4 days old when he won the Ballon d'Or in 2001.
Who is the king of football now 2023? Lionel Messi is the holder of the title 'King of football.' He is best known for his dribbling skills, tricks on the field, impossible goals, and never-ending determination to win the game.
Diego Armando Maradona received the Golden Ballon d'Or, which also honoured players from outside of Europe, in 1995.
There's speculation that the Super Ballon d'Or could be awarded again in 2029. If so, the clear favourite for the prize would surely be Lionel Messi. The Argentine has scored 793 goals in 1,003 career games, and has won seven Ballons d'Or: in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.
The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d'Or are considered as winners by both award organisations. The Ballon d'Or is generally regarded as football's most prestigious and valuable individual award.
Fifa, football's governing body, hosts The Best Fifa Football Awards, while France Football magazine runs the Ballon d'Or.
Messi has been named the Ballon d'Or/FIFA Ballon d'Or winner seven times- 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2021.