Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or victories - ranked

While FIFA may have its own individual award it hands out each year, the Ballon d'Or is still widely recognised as the most prestigious prize available to footballers.

One man is the undisputed king of the Ballon d'Or and will almost certainly remain so for many, many years. Lionel Messi has won the award a record seven times spanning from 2009 to 2021, showcasing his amazing longevity.

He is one of the nominees for the 2023 edition and among the major favourites to win.

Having taken home so many golden balls, Messi would be forgiven for struggling to pick a favourite. Here, we take a look at his seven wins ranked in order of impressiveness from least to most.

7. 2015

It's impossible to ever criticise a Ballon d'Or victory. 2015 only comes in last as there was little in the way of extenuating circumstances; he was just clearly better than everyone else.

Messi won the Champions League and the Copa del Rey in the 2014/15 season, scoring 58 goals for Barcelona in the process. He was at the peak of his powers and not even Cristiano Ronaldo could challenge him.

6. 2009

This was the first time Messi won the Ballon d'Or and what makes his triumph particularly impressive is that Ronaldo was the current holder. He had really hit the ground running at Real Madrid after becoming the world's most expensive player.

Messi got 473 votes and Ronaldo could only manage 233. It was a Barcelona-heavy year, with Xavi and Andreas Iniesta third and fourth and Samuel Eto'o - also of Inter - in fifth.

5. 2011

With Barcelona ruling the world under Pep Guardiola, this was another year like 2015 where it was obvious Messi was going to win the Ballon d'Or.

The level Messi operated in during 2011 was obscene. He bagged 53 goals and 27 assists in the 2010/11 campaign.

His dominance was reflected by his 47.88% share of the vote, much more than the 21.6% Ronaldo managed for his exploits.

4. 2021

Before this point, one of the few things Messi hadn't accomplished in his career was to move team and continue playing well. For part of the time period for this award, he was a Paris Saint-Germain player.

Being the talent he is, Messi still managed to win the Ballon d'Or despite extremely strong competition from Robert Lewandowski. Messi will have been proud of this one, not to mention that it took him to his seventh Ballon d'Or.

3. 2019

Many will say Messi should not have won the Ballon d'Or this year, but that's largely why it ranks so highly.

A number of Liverpool players were extremely impressive in 2019 but none did enough to displace Messi, who beat them to the individual award in an underwhelming Barcelona team.

Virgil van Dijk was the closest challenger to Messi, while Ronaldo had scored a hatful of goals at Juventus but could only come third.

2. 2012

If there was ever a year Messi looked certain to win the award, it was 2012.

He was the bookies' favourite straight from the off and ended up winning 41.6% of the vote, with closest challengers Ronaldo and Andres Iniesta taking only 23.68% and 10.91% of the vote respectively.

During 2012, Messi set the record for goals scored in a calendar year by netting 91 times for club and country. He wiped the floor with everyone, redefining what a footballer can achieve in 365 days.

1. 2010

The reason this Ballon d'Or is Messi's best is the immense competition he faced from players in his own team, particularly the Spaniards.

Spain had won the World Cup in the summer for the first time, with Iniesta scoring the winning goal in the final. Messi still managed to beat him, but it was a really tight fight.

The Argentinian legend got 22.65% of the vote while Iniesta earned 17.36%. Barcelona and Spain star Xavi got 16.48%, so there was plenty of competition.

READ MORE ON THE 2023 BALLON D'OR NOMINATIONS AND PREDICTED RANKINGS