Many fans mix up the details of a prize: who awards it, who supplies it, and which factors are weighed when deciding it.
The most prestigious individual honor in football, often called The Best, is presented by the sport’s global governing body, FIFA. Some readers conflate this award with the Ballon d’Or, but they are distinct, with different histories and criteria.
Since 1956, the French newsweekly France Football has evaluated players’ performances to determine the best European player of the year, the Ballon d’Or, a prize that has become deeply linked with annual excellence on the field.
The Best 2022-2023 Awards: when it will be awarded, top player and coach candidates, and past winners
In 1988, FIFA began naming a best player of the year, known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, though the award never achieved the same global prestige as others in football.
In 2009, the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year were merged for a moment to create the FIFA Ballon d’Or in 2010, a move intended to unify European and global recognition under one banner.
After the collaboration ended six years later, FIFA introduced The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2016. Cristiano Ronaldo won the first two editions under that format, and natural rivals like Luka Modrić were among the contenders for 2018 before Modrić captured the title.
It is important to note that The Best and the Ballon d’Or follow different evaluation rules. The Best considers performance over a season from August to July, with voting distributed among national team coaches and captains, selected journalists aligned with FIFA, and half of the vote cast by fans registered on the FIFA website. The Ballon d’Or, in contrast, relies on votes from a panel of 193 sports journalists and emphasizes the calendar year including national team participation and friendlies, with scoring distributed on a 5-3-1 basis.
Another major distinction lies in candidate lists. The Ballon d’Or typically invites 30 nominees, whereas The Best presents a shorter slate of about 10 candidates.
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Notes: The summaries above reflect ongoing discussions about how these awards are perceived in football culture. The Ballon d’Or remains a barometer of European performance judged by independent journalists, while The Best represents FIFA’s view of the season’s global impact, capturing the votes of coaches, captains, journalists, and fans alike.