How is the Ballon d'Or winner decided?

The Ballon d'Or, the most prestigious individual prize in football, is awarded annually by France Football magazine to the player perceived to be the best in the world.

The winner is chosen through a dual system of voting.

Firstly, journalists from France Football and fellow French publication L'Equipe work together to produce a combined list of 30 official nominees, based on players' performances in the previous season. This initial selection process sometimes also includes a small number of former players.

Then, one football journalist from each of the top 100 Fifa-ranked nations is invited to cast votes for their top 10 players in order from that shortlist. The 10 players are awarded 15, 12, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 3, 2, and 1 point based on ranking.

Once all journalists have submitted their top 10s, points are tallied and the winner of the Ballon d'Or is the player who accrued the most points in the voting, while the rest are ranked from second to 30th.

If players are tied on points, they are separated by the number of first place votes they received. If they are still level, the number of second place votes are used, and so on.

Journalists taking part in the vote are encouraged to consider three factors:

The way in which the Ballon d'Or is awarded has changed significantly since it was first created in 1956.

Until 1995, only European footballers were eligible for the award. Then, for the next 12 years, players of any origin playing for a club in Europe were eligible. Only from 2007 onwards have all players worldwide been included.

Between 2007 and 2015, the captain and manager of each Fifa-recognised international team was invited to participate in the final vote, but both prior to that period and since then, only journalists have contributed.

From 2010 to 2015, Fifa collaborated with France Football on the award, which was known as the Fifa Ballon d'Or.

Fifa now give out their own separate prize, called the Fifa Best player award, but its lack of long-term history means the Ballon d'Or is generally considered more prestigious.

Prior to 2022, voting was based on a player's performances over the course of a calendar year – comprising half of two separate seasons in most elite leagues – before being changed to encompass a single full season.

The women's award, known as the Ballon d'Or Feminine, was first created in 2018.

It has been won three times by Spain international Aitana Bonmati and twice by her international team-mate Alexia Putellas, as well as once each by Norway's Ada Hegerberg and the USA's Megan Rapinoe.

There is a slight nuance in the way the women's award is voted for - the same system of pre-selection followed by a jury of journalists is used, but only 50 journalists from the top-ranked nations are invited to take part, rather than 100.

Having taken home the trophy eight times, Lionel Messi has won more the Ballon d'Or more often than any other player.

Perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo is second with five titles, while Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten won three each.

Alfredo di Stefano, Franz Beckenbauer, Kevin Keegan, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Ronaldo Nazario – each with two - are the only others to have won the men's Ballon d'Or more than once.

The awarding of the Ballon d'Or sometimes draws criticism from fans and pundits.

In the past, complaints have focused on the fact that the award has historically favoured attacking midfielders and forwards over more defensive players.

Only two centre-backs (Beckenbauer and Fabio Cannavaro) and one goalkeeper (Lev Yashin) have ever won the award.

The jury's tendency to vote for players whose teams have won the biggest prizes in the game that year, like the World Cup and Champions League, has also caused controversy in the past.

Some believe collective achievement should not impact voting, and that a player who has performed highly as an individual should not miss out because his team was less successful.

Furthermore, the fact that the main award is voted form by journalists, rather than players, coaches, or ex-professionals, has occasionally led to criticism.

Finally, for some fans, the concept of an individual award in a team sport renders the Ballon d'Or unimportant.

The 2026 Ballon d'Or winner will be announced on 26 October, at a ceremony in London.

This is the first time it will be held in the UK capital, which Uefa says "pays tribute to English footballer Sir Stanley Matthews, the award's inaugural winner 70 years ago".

A variety of other awards are given out during the ceremony, including:

The 30-man shortlist has been confirmed for the award, selected by members of France Football, L'Equipe, the best juror from the 2025 Ballon d'Or and Fifa Ambassadors.

Like the men's award, the Ballon d'Or Féminin has confirmed a 30-player shortlist.

Reigning winner Aita Bonmati is absent from the list due to missing much of the last year with a broken leg - should she have won for a fourth year in a row, she would have been tied with Lionel Messi for the most consecutive Ballon d'Or wins.

This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team.