Football fans have been given another opportunity to debate one of the sport’s biggest questions after the Ballon d’Or organisers unveiled the nominees for a special all-time B.O.A.T. (Ballon d’Or Of All Time) vote.
The 10-player shortlist features some of the greatest names ever to win the prestigious individual award, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, Franz Beckenbauer, Ronaldo Nazário, Kevin Keegan and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.
The announcement comes as the Ballon d’Or celebrates its 70th anniversary. The award was first presented in 1956, when England and Blackpool legend Stanley Matthews became its inaugural winner.
Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo headline historic shortlist
The presence of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo was always likely to generate the biggest debate among modern football fans.
Messi enters the contest as the most decorated player in Ballon d’Or history, having won the award eight times. His winning years were 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023.
Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed the award five times, winning in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017. His inclusion gives the vote another chapter in the long-running debate surrounding the two superstars.
However, the organisers have made the contest broader than simply asking fans to choose between Messi and Ronaldo.
The voting format focuses on the individual Ballon d’Or-winning year rather than simply selecting a player's entire career. That means fans are effectively being asked to decide which winning campaign represents the greatest Ballon d’Or achievement in the history of the award.
The 10 all-time nominees
The shortlist brings together winners from several different generations of football.
Alfredo Di Stéfano
Real Madrid icon Alfredo Di Stéfano won the Ballon d’Or in 1957 and 1959.
The Argentina-born forward was one of the defining figures of Real Madrid's early European dominance and is regarded as one of the most influential players of the 20th century.
Lionel Messi
Messi has won the Ballon d’Or eight times, more than any other player.
His winning years span from 2009 through 2023 and include the extraordinary Barcelona era as well as his later international success with Argentina.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo has five Ballon d’Or victories, with his first coming in 2008 before he added four more between 2013 and 2017.
His inclusion alongside Messi ensures that the modern era will have two of its defining players represented in the historic vote.
Marco van Basten
The Dutch striker won the award in 1988, 1989 and 1992.
Van Basten's three victories put him alongside several other three-time winners on the shortlist.
Johan Cruyff
Cruyff won the Ballon d’Or in 1971, 1973 and 1974, becoming one of the central figures of European football during the 1970s.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
The German forward won consecutive Ballon d’Or awards in 1980 and 1981.
Michel Platini
Platini achieved a remarkable three consecutive victories, winning the Ballon d’Or in 1983, 1984 and 1985.
Ronaldo Nazário
Brazilian icon Ronaldo Nazário won the award twice, in 1997 and 2002.
His two victories came during different stages of an extraordinary career, with the 2002 triumph following his starring role in Brazil's World Cup-winning campaign.
Kevin Keegan
The Englishman won back-to-back Ballon d’Or awards in 1978 and 1979, making him one of the few players on the list to win the prize in consecutive years.
Franz Beckenbauer
German legend Franz Beckenbauer won the award in 1972 and 1976.
The defender's presence is particularly notable because the shortlist is dominated by attacking players and midfielders. Beckenbauer's inclusion represents one of the most influential defenders in the history of the game.
A shortlist built around multiple-time winners
One of the most interesting aspects of the selection is the eligibility criteria.
Rather than including every legendary player who has ever won the Ballon d’Or, the B.O.A.T. shortlist consists of players who have won the award at least twice. That explains why some famous names are absent despite their enormous reputations.
Players such as Pelé, Diego Maradona, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldinho and Eusébio are not part of this particular vote because they do not meet the stated multiple-winning criteria.
That distinction is important because the contest is not necessarily intended to settle the broader question of who is the greatest footballer ever. Instead, it is centred specifically on the history of the Ballon d’Or and its multiple-time winners.
Fans can vote for specific winning years
The format adds another layer to the debate.
Messi does not simply appear as "Messi" on the ballot. His eight winning seasons are individually represented. Ronaldo's five winning years are also listed separately, while the other eight nominees have their respective Ballon d’Or-winning years available for consideration.
The full list of winning years represented in the vote is:
• Lionel Messi: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023
• Cristiano Ronaldo: 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
• Johan Cruyff: 1971, 1973, 1974
• Michel Platini: 1983, 1984, 1985
• Marco van Basten: 1988, 1989, 1992
• Ronaldo Nazário: 1997, 2002
• Franz Beckenbauer: 1972, 1976
• Alfredo Di Stéfano: 1957, 1959
• Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: 1980, 1981
• Kevin Keegan: 1978, 1979
This means Messi has the largest number of individual winning years represented because of his record eight Ballon d’Or victories.
Voting deadline and announcement date
According to reports on the newly launched B.O.A.T. vote, supporters can participate until October 27, 2026, with the result expected to be announced on October 28. Each vote costs €1, according to reports covering the initiative.
The special vote is separate from the regular 2026 men's Ballon d’Or ceremony, which is scheduled to take place in London on October 26.
That means football fans will have two major Ballon d’Or-related moments within a very short period.
Another chapter in the Messi vs Ronaldo debate
Naturally, the inclusion of Messi and Ronaldo has reignited one of football's most persistent debates.
Their careers have overlapped for much of the 21st century, with both players collecting individual awards, breaking scoring records and dominating the Ballon d’Or conversation for more than a decade.
But the B.O.A.T. vote introduces a different question.
Instead of simply asking which player had the better career, supporters must consider the individual seasons that produced their Ballon d’Or victories.
For Messi supporters, the candidates include several historically significant campaigns, while Ronaldo's list includes the seasons in which he established himself as one of the most prolific goalscorers and decisive players of his generation.
At the same time, supporters of older generations can point to Cruyff, Di Stéfano, Beckenbauer, Platini, Van Basten, Keegan and Rummenigge as players who dominated their respective eras.
That makes the comparison particularly difficult because football has changed dramatically across generations.
Who deserves to win?
There is no objective answer to the question of which individual Ballon d’Or-winning year was the greatest.
The candidates played in different tactical systems, different competitions and vastly different footballing environments. The award itself has also changed over the decades, including changes to eligibility and voting arrangements.
For that reason, the B.O.A.T. vote is likely to generate plenty of disagreement among supporters.
Messi has the record number of Ballon d’Or victories. Ronaldo has five. Cruyff, Platini and Van Basten each have three, while Di Stéfano, Beckenbauer, Rummenigge, Keegan and Ronaldo Nazário have two apiece.
But the number of awards alone does not automatically determine which individual winning year was the most impressive. The new format invites supporters to look at the circumstances, performances and significance of each triumph.
And that is what makes this particular Ballon d’Or debate different from the usual Messi-versus-Ronaldo argument.
So, who is your B.O.A.T.? Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Cruyff, Di Stéfano, R9, Platini, Van Basten, Beckenbauer, Keegan or Rummenigge?
