Yesterday, 17th of October, the Balon d’Or ceremony took place in Paris, France. Here are the winners from each category!
In case you are not familiar with what the Ballon d’Or is, here is the definition, from Wikipedia:
The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (founded in 1991) and known as the FIFA Ballon d’Or. That partnership ended in 2016, and the award reverted to the Ballon d’Or, while FIFA also reverted to its own separate annual award The Best FIFA Men’s Player. The recipients of the joint FIFA Ballon d’Or are considered as winners by both award organisations.
Women’s Ballon d’Or
Alexia Putellas (Spain, FC Barcelona)
28 years old Barcelona midfielder won the award for the second time in a row.
Yashin Trophy
Thibaut Courtois (Belgium, Real Madrid)
No surprise here, Courtois was crucial for Real Madrid, having saved Los Blancos on numerous occasions, including a penalty from Messi in the round of 16.
Kopa Trophy
Gavi (Spain, FC Barcelona)
Young Barcelona midfielder was followed by Real Madrid’s Camavinga, Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham and Bayern’s Musiala.
Gerd Müller award
Robert Lewandowski (Poland, Bayern Munich/FC Barcelona)
The Gerd Muller award is for the Best Forward of the year. The Polish Striker won this award last year as well.
Socrates Prize
Sadio Mané (Senegal, Liverpool/Bayern Munich)
In case you were wondering, this is the Socrates Award: The new trophy honours footballers who campaign for integration, climate protection, disadvantaged people or those threatened by conflict.
Club of the Year
Manchester City (England)
Liverpool came second, while UEFA Champions League and La Liga winners, Real Madrid came third.
Ballon d’Or
Karim Benzema (France, Real Madrid)
No surprises here, Real Madrid forward, Karim Benzema took home the grand price: the Ballon d’Or. You can find the top 10 below:
| # | Name | Club | Nationality |
| 1 | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | France |
| 2 | Sadio Mane | Liverpool / Bayern Munich | Senegal |
| 3 | Kevin De Bruyne | Man City | Belgium |
| 4 | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich / Barcelona | Poland |
| 5 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | Egypt |
| 6 | Kylian Mbappe | PSG | France |
| 7 | Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid | Belgium |
| 8 | Vinicius Jr. | Real Madrid | Brazil |
| 9 | Luka Modric | Real Madrid | Croatia |
| 10 | Erling Haaland | Man City | Norway |