By Ghazali Ibrahim
The organisers of the Ballon d’Or have confirmed that football’s most prestigious individual award can be won even if a player does not lift a team trophy during the season, although such an achievement has occurred only six times in the history of the prize.
In a statement published on Monday ahead of the 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony, scheduled for October 26 in London, the organisers revisited the award’s history amid ongoing debate over the criteria for selecting the winner.
According to the organisers, England legend Stanley Matthews became the first player to win the Ballon d’Or without claiming any team silverware when he received the inaugural award in 1956.
Only five other players have matched the feat since then: Denis Law (1964), Gerd Müller (1970), Kevin Keegan (1978), Luis Figo (2000), and Cristiano Ronaldo (2013).
Ronaldo remains the most recent recipient to win the Ballon d’Or without a team trophy, with no player repeating the achievement in the 11 editions since.
The organisers also noted that no player has won the Women’s Ballon d’Or without securing a team title since the women’s award was introduced in 2018.
This year’s ceremony in London will see the presentation of the 70th men’s Ballon d’Or and the eighth Women’s Ballon d’Or.
