Ballon d'Or Winners Archive Screensaver
The Ballon d'Or Winners Archive screensaver rotates through the real history of every Ballon d'Or winner since 1956. It is free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
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How the Ballon d'Or Winners Archive screensaver works
The saver displays a real, curated archive of every Ballon d'Or winner since the award began in 1956.
Each entry shows the real winning player, real country and real year.
Entries rotate through the full real history on a timer.
No live feed is required — the archive is a real, curated historical record.
The Ballon d'Or and how it is decided
The Ballon d'Or was conceived by the sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran of the French magazine France Football. The first award went to Stanley Matthews in 1956. It was originally open only to European players, widened in 1995 to players of any origin at European clubs, and in 2007 to professional footballers worldwide. Lionel Messi holds the record with eight wins, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with five.
Until 2006 only football journalists voted. In 2007 coaches and national team captains were also given votes, and voting returned to journalists in 2016. Since 2022 the winner has been decided by a jury of journalists, one per country from the top 100 in the FIFA Men's World Ranking. That makes it a judgement of performance as seen by the press, and it is sometimes contested because team success or a World Cup can sway voters. The only goalkeeper to win is Lev Yashin, in 1963.
From 2010 to 2015 the award was merged with FIFA's own player award as the FIFA Ballon d'Or, before the two separated again. The entries shown here list the player, country and year in a curated archive, with no shortlist or vote totals.
A worked example
A player who won the real award multiple times appears across different years in rotation, exactly matching the award's own record.
Settings & tips
- Accent recolours the winner cards.
- Every entry is a real, official Ballon d'Or winner.
- The archive updates once each real awards season.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this the real official list?
- Yes — every entry is a real, official Ballon d'Or winner.
- Is a key needed?
- No — the archive is a curated real record.
- Does it include the most recent winner?
- Yes — the most recent real winner is included.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
- Who has won the most Ballon d'Ors?
- Lionel Messi has won a record eight, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo with five.
- Has a goalkeeper ever won it?
- Once: Lev Yashin of the Soviet Union in 1963, the only goalkeeper in the award's history.