5 interesting facts about the Ballon d'Or award

#1 The awards were previously meant only for players of European origin

Diego Maradona

When the Ballon d’Or was first introduced in 1956, it was initially intended for players of European origin. As a result, many of the stellar names in football, including Diego Maradona and Pele, never won the prestigious prize during their professional career.

This was first changed in 1995, when players of any origin playing in Europe were considered eligible for the award. In 2007, the Ballon d’Or truly achieved global status when all professional footballers around the world were included in the selection criteria.

In 2016, as a part of the celebration of 60 years of the award, France Football carried out a re-evaluation of the award for the era where non-European players were not eligible. All 39 awards from 1956 to 1994 were considered, and 12 of those were awarded to South American footballers.

Pele, Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes, Garrincha and Romario shared the award among them. Pele won seven, while Maradona was awarded two. However, the original European winners were unchanged.

The two legendary footballers also won honorary Ballon d'Or awards for their contributions to the beautiful game. The Brazilian won the award in 2013, while the Argentinean was awarded the coveted prize in 1996.