Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are among 10 football legends shortlisted for the Ballon d’Or Of All Time (B.O.A.T.), a special contest inviting fans to select the most outstanding Ballon d’Or-winning season.
The shortlist was unveiled on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, as the prestigious individual award marks its 70th anniversary.
Other nominees are Alfredo Di Stéfano, Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Kevin Keegan and Ronaldo Nazário.
Messi holds the record with eight Ballon d’Or titles, followed by Ronaldo with five. Cruyff, Platini and van Basten won three times each, while the remaining five nominees claimed the award twice apiece.
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Unlike a conventional poll ranking players by their overall careers, the B.O.A.T. contest focuses on individual winning seasons, allowing supporters to compare achievements across different generations.
Voting is available through the official Ballon d’Or website at €1 per vote, with multiple submissions permitted. Participants can also enter a draw to win two tickets to the 2027 ceremony.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. Paris time on Tuesday, October 27, with the result scheduled for announcement on October 28.
The contest follows France Football’s 2020 Ballon d’Or Dream Team project, which used votes from an international panel of journalists to select an all-time XI after the regular award was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new initiative instead focuses on individual award-winning seasons and gives fans the deciding vote.
First presented in 1956, the Ballon d’Or will hold its 2026 ceremony at the London Palladium on Monday, October 26, marking the event’s first staging in London.