Ballon d’Or: Five Key Facts About the Trophy’s Last Five Winners

The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony takes place in London on October 26, with Harry Kane, Rodri, Kylian Mbappé, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Ousmane Dembélé among the names cited as contenders. Lionel Messi won two of the previous five awards, in 2021 and 2023, and three winners during that period were at least 32 years old. Karim Benzema won in 2022, Rodri ended a 64-year wait for a Spanish winner in 2024, and Dembélé claimed the 2025 award after PSG’s first Champions League title. Luis Suárez Miramontes had been the last Spanish winner before Rodri, in 1960.