The Ballon d’Or for the world’s best footballer will not be awarded this year. “For the first time since 1956, the Ballon d’Or is taking a break,” the trade magazine “France Football” announced on Monday as the organizer. The corona pandemic was cited as the reason for the cancellation.
“We cannot regard this as a typical year. Extraordinary circumstances led to an extraordinary decision,” said Pascal Ferré, editor of “France Football”, on the homepage of the French trade magazine. The decision was difficult, but in these circumstances the choice would not have been fair. The award will then be presented again next year.
The last German winner was Matthias Sammer
The Ballon d’Or is awarded annually through a vote among the coaches and captains of the national teams and international media representatives. The last German to win the election was Matthias Sammer in 1996. Franz Beckenbauer and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge were each awarded twice. This year Bavaria’s Robert Lewandowski or Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema were also considered potential candidates for the award due to their consistently strong performances.
Between 2010 and 2015, the Ballon d’Or was merged with FIFA’s world football award, after which the award ceremonies separated. Argentinian Lionel Messi tops the Ballon d’Or forever with six titles, while Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo follows with one less golden ball.
For the first time in 2018, a jury of sports journalists who focus on women’s football selected the world’s best player from a list of 15 candidates. The American Megan Rapinoe won last year.
