Ballon d’Or is the most precious individual award given to a footballer for his excellent performance in a single season. For a footballer, winning the Ballon d’Or is one of their top dreams. Many legendary players have won this award, and few have won it more than once.
The Ballon d’Or award was started by French Football (owned by the L’Équipe Group) in 1956 and has been given out yearly. The value of the award is still the same over these long periods of time. The Argentine legend Lionel Messi won it a maximum of seven times in his career, which is a world record.
There is also a more highly recognized award than the Ballon d’Or in the football world, which is the Super Ballon d’Or. Give a read to know who has won the Super Ballon d’Or.
What is Super Ballon d’Or?
Super Ballon d’Or is an exclusive recognition award given to a player in the football world. It was given only on 24 December 1989 by the French football magazine France Football for the best football player of the last three decades. Broadly, the Super Ballon d’Or trophy looks similar to the Ballon d’Or but has a mini gold football attached to its base.
The award is given only once, making it the rarest and most prestigious in football. There were many new speculations about whom it would be given next, but as of now, players have yet to get it since 1989.
Who has won the Super Ballon d’Or?
Spanish-Argentine forward Alfredo Di Stefano is the only player who won Super Ballon d’Or in 1989. The award was given based on the voting system between multiple-time Ballon d’Or winners. The winner, Di Stefano, was chosen by voting of readers, viewers, a panel of French Football jury, and former Ballon d’Or winners.
| Alfredo Di Stefano – Real Madrid | Official Stats |
|---|---|
| Games | 396 |
| Goals | 308 |
| Trophies | 18 (Including seven La Liga titles and five European Cup triumphs) |
Di Stefano established himself as a great player at Real Madrid, scoring 308 goals in 396 official matches, and helped the club win 18 trophies in an 11-year spell from 1953-1964. Dutch legend Johan Cruyff, winner of the Ballon d’Or in 1971, 1973, and 1974, and Michel Platini, who won three consecutive Ballon d’Or trophies from 1984-1986, were the other two finalists along with winners Stefano.
The viewers and readers chose Michel Platini as the best to win the Super Ballon d’Or, but the France football jury and former Ballon d’Or winners chose Alfredo Di Stefano. For many years, the Super Ballon d’Or trophy was kept at his home club, Real Madrid’s museum at Santiago Bernabeu. Fortunately or unfortunately, in 2021, Di Stefano’s children auctioned off his memorabilia. The trophy was among the items sold to an anonymous buyer for £187,500, and its current location is unknown.
Things you need to know about Super Ballon d’Or
Being the most rare and superior individual award in football makes the Super Ballon d’Or even more special. Here are some important facts about the award.
| Super Ballon d’Or Date | December 24th 1989 |
| Super Ballon d’Or Founded Country Name | France |
| Super Ballon d’Or Presented by | France Football |
| Eligibility for Super Ballon d’Or | Multiple-time Ballon d’Or winner |
| First awarded for Super Ballon d’Or | 1989 |
| First Winner of Super Ballon d’Or | Alfredo Di Stéfano |
| Other List Winners | Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldo Nazario, Zinedine Zidane, Andriy Shevchenko, Roberto Baggio & Lothar Matthäus, Hristo Stoichkov, Robert Lewandowski, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Kaka, Luis Figo & Luka Modric, Thierry Henry, Andres Iniesta & Matthias Sammer, Karim Benzema & Michael Owen, Pavel Nedved, Marco van Basten, Jean-Pierre Papin , George Weah , Fabio Cannavaro & Xavi, Hernandez, Dennis Bergkamp, Neymar, Raul, Paolo Maldini, Jurgen Klinsmann, David Beckham & Gianluigi Buffon, Roberto Carlos, Sadio Mane, Davor Suker & Dejan Savićevic, Darko Pančev, Salvatore Schillaci, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Deco, Predrag Mijatović, Oliver Kahn, Frank Lampard , Antoine Griezmann & Virgil van Dijk, Didier Drogba & Kylian Mbappe, Steven Gerrard, Kevin De Bruyne & Mo Salah, Iker Casillas, Andrea Pirlo & Samuel Eto’o, Luis Suarez, Jari Litmanen , Eric Cantona , Alessandro Del Piero & Gabriel Batistuta |
Where is Di Stefano’s trophy now?
The rarest trophy in the football world won by Di Stefano was kept at the Museum of Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu until 2021. Di Stefano’s son sold his father’s trophy in an auction at Julien’s Auction in London.
The trophy was sold to an anonymous buyer at a price of £187,500. However, many former footballers and journalists were unhappy with this auction and criticized Di Stefano’s son.
Can Messi win the next Super Ballon d’Or?
As of now, it’s still being determined whether the Super Ballon d’Or trophy will ever be given again or not. However, there are some reports and speculations that it will be awarded in 2029, 30 years after it was first given in 1989. Since the first winner of the Super Ballon d’Or, there were and still are several players who could be considered winning the next Super Ballon d’Or.
But, the strongest among them are the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 7-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and 5-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo. Between these two legends, Messi has become the most accomplished player for Super Ballon d’Or after winning the World Cup. Messi and Ronaldo have created a record for consecutive Ballon d’Or wins from 2008 to 2017, and eventually, they lost to Croatian legend Luka Modric in 2018.
Other than Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, great players like two-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo Nazario and three-time Ballon d’Or winner Marco van Basten are among the strongest nominees. But the race between Messi and Ronaldo is the strongest one. Messi is the most dominating and favourite candidate for the Super Ballon d’Or as the Barcelona legend has already won seven Ballon d’Ors and will most probably win eight, one for his outstanding performance over the season.
However, many believe that Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo is the greatest footballer of all time and he deserves to win the next Super Ballon d’Or. The debate between these two legends has been going on for the last decade. So, it would be interesting to see who will be the next Super Ballon d’Or, hopefully in 2029.
What is the date of Next Super Ballon d’Or ceremonies?
The Super Ballon d’Or is a prestigious individual award presented by French news magazine France Football to the best male footballer of the past 30 years. It is an even more exclusive award than the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded annually to the best male footballer of the previous year. Hence, there are no fixed dates for this award.
The Super Ballon d’Or has only been awarded once, in 1989, to Spanish-Argentine forward Alfredo Di Stéfano. The award was voted between multiple-time Ballon d’Or winners, and Di Stéfano was chosen ahead of Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini.
There is no set time duration between two Super Ballon d’Or ceremonies. The award is only given out when France Football decides that there is a worthy contender. This means that the time between two ceremonies could be just a few years, or it could be many decades.
For example, there was a 33-year gap between the 1989 Super Ballon d’Or ceremony and the 2023 ceremony, which was won by Lionel Messi. Messi was the clear favorite to win the award, having won the Ballon d’Or a record seven times and having led Argentina to victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
It is possible that the Super Ballon d’Or will be awarded more frequently in the future, as there are now more players than ever before who have won multiple Ballon d’Or awards. However, it is also possible that the award will remain as exclusive as it always has been, only given out to the truly elite players of the game.
Why is the time duration between two Super Ballon d’Or ceremonies so long?
There are a few reasons why the time duration between two Super Ballon d’Or ceremonies is so long.
First, the award is only given out when France Football decides that there is a worthy contender. This means that the award is not given out on a set schedule, but rather when there is a player who has had a truly exceptional career.
Second, the Super Ballon d’Or is a very exclusive award. It is only given to players who have won multiple Ballon d’Or awards. This means that there is a very limited pool of players who are eligible for the award.
Third, the Super Ballon d’Or is a very prestigious award. It is considered to be the highest individual honor in football. This means that France Football is very careful about who they award the award to. They want to make sure that the winner is truly one of the greatest players of all time.
Will the Super Ballon d’Or be awarded more frequently in the future?
It is possible that the Super Ballon d’Or will be awarded more frequently in the future. There are now more players than ever before who have won multiple Ballon d’Or awards. Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or a record seven times, and Cristiano Ronaldo has won it five times. Other players who have won multiple Ballon d’Or awards include Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco van Basten.
However, it is also possible that the Super Ballon d’Or will remain as exclusive as it always has been. France Football may decide to only award the award to players who have had truly exceptional careers, even if they have not won multiple Ballon d’Or awards.
Ultimately, the decision of whether or not to award the Super Ballon d’Or more frequently is up to France Football. They will make the decision on a case-by-case basis, depending on whether or not they believe there is a worthy contender.
FAQ
Who has won the Super Ballon d’Or in the past?
Only one player has won the Super Ballon d’Or in the past: Alfredo Di Stéfano. He was awarded the prize in 1989, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Ballon d’Or award. Di Stéfano was a Spanish-Argentine forward who played for Real Madrid in the 1950s and 1960s. He is considered to be one of the greatest footballers of all time.
Why was Alfredo Di Stéfano given the Super Ballon d’Or?
Di Stéfano won the Ballon d’Or twice, in 1957 and 1959, and was a five-time European Cup winner with Real Madrid. He was also a key player for the Argentina national team, captaining them to victory in the 1957 Copa América. This is considered one of the biggest reason as to why Alfredo Di Stéfano was given the Super Ballon d’Or.
Can Messi Win the Super Ballon d’Or?
Lionel Messi is certainly in contention for the Super Ballon d’Or award. The Argentine has completed football, with his recent triumph in 2022 at the FIFA World Cup Qatar. Previously, the player had won 7 Ballon d’Or, along with several league titles with both Barcelona and PSG. Along with that, he has also won Champions League with Barcelona, and Copa America with his national side.
