Who decides the Ballon d'Or winner? Criteria for football's prestigious award explained

Ballon d'Or is one of the most anticipated and prestigious awards in football history, often associated with the best players in the world. Lionel Messi has won the accolade seven times while Cristiano Ronaldo is the closest to the Argentine with five.

The trophy has been held by some of the biggest names of past and present like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Fenomeno and Luka Modric but who decides the winners and what are the criteria for it? Here GOAL explains.

Who decides the Ballon d'Or winner?

France Football, a French footballing publication, is the main body behind the Ballon d'Or.

Initially, the editorial team decides upon a 30-player shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, beyond which a panel of journalists is enlisted. In the past, a media member from more than 180 nations received a ballot to make this award a truly global one.

They were tasked with picking their top five for the men's award and then those votes were tabulated by France Football to determine the final ranking.

It all changed beginning with the 2022 edition. France Football has decided to restrict the number of nations that received a ballot. The organizers decided to reduce that list to the top 100 countries from the FIFA Men's World Ranking (for the men's award), and the top 50 countries from the Women's World Ranking (for the women's award) with the intention to ensure that only countries with an established football culture had an impact on the prestigious award.

The criteria to determine the initial list have changed as well from the 2022 season. The initial list of players is now determined by

• France Football and L'Equipe journalists
• Ballon d'Or ambassador Didier Drogba
• Three media members whose ballots matched up exactly with the final cumulative vote of the previous season

What criteria are used to vote on players?

Ballon d'Or is often a yardstick to decide who's had the best year, which changed to the best season from 2021/22 onwards, but there are three specific criteria that journalists base their final votes on:

• Individual performance in the previous season (no longer by calendar year).
• Team success during the previous season.
• Player behavior and fair play during the season.

The parameters ensure the player who performs at an elite level and helps their team win silverware will earn the recognition they deserve more often than not.

In the past, a player's overall career performance was taken into account by the voters. That allowed Messi to finish ahead of Robert Lewandowski in 2021 despite having inferior numbers to the Polish striker.

The Ballon d'Or ceremony begins at 8:30 pm (2:30 pm EST) CET in Paris on Monday, October 30. The winner will be confirmed 30 minutes after the start. All eyes will be on the winner as the footballing world gets ready for football's biggest award.