World Cup Golden Ball
Award Name: adidas Golden Ball
Presented by: FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association)
Selection Scope: Best player of each FIFA World Cup tournament
First awarded: 1982 Spain World Cup
🏆 List of World Cup Golden Ball Winners (1982-2022)
- 1982 Spain — Paolo Rossi — Italy
- 1986 Mexico — Diego Maradona — Argentina
- 1990 Italy — Salvatore Schillaci — Italy
- 1994 United States — Romário — Brazil
- 1998 France — Ronaldo — Brazil
- 2002 South Korea/Japan — Oliver Kahn — Germany
- 2006 Germany — Zinedine Zidane — France
- 2010 South Africa — Diego Forlán — Uruguay
- 2014 Brazil — Lionel Messi — Argentina
- 2018 Russia — Luka Modrić — Croatia
- 2022 Qatar — Lionel Messi — Argentina
📊 Wins by Player
- 2 wins: Lionel Messi (2014, 2022)
- 1 win: Paolo Rossi, Diego Maradona, Salvatore Schillaci, Romário, Ronaldo, Oliver Kahn, Zinedine Zidane, Diego Forlán, Luka Modrić
📊 Wins by Country
- Argentina: 3 (Maradona 1986, Messi 2014, Messi 2022)
- Italy: 2 (Rossi 1982, Schillaci 1990)
- Brazil: 2 (Romário 1994, Ronaldo 1998)
- Germany: 1 (Kahn 2002)
- France: 1 (Zidane 2006)
- Uruguay: 1 (Forlán 2010)
- Croatia: 1 (Modrić 2018)
📋 Golden, Silver & Bronze Ball (Top Three)
Each World Cup also awards a Silver Ball (second best) and a Bronze Ball (third best). Below are the top three from recent editions:
- 2022 Qatar: Golden: Messi (ARG), Silver: Mbappé (FRA), Bronze: Modrić (CRO)
- 2018 Russia: Golden: Modrić (CRO), Silver: Hazard (BEL), Bronze: Griezmann (FRA)
- 2014 Brazil: Golden: Messi (ARG), Silver: Müller (GER), Bronze: Robben (NED)
- 2010 South Africa: Golden: Forlán (URU), Silver: Sneijder (NED), Bronze: Villa (ESP)
- 2006 Germany: Golden: Zidane (FRA), Silver: Cannavaro (ITA), Bronze: Pirlo (ITA)
📌 Selection Criteria
- Voting body: FIFA Technical Study Group and a panel of accredited media representatives.
- Evaluation criteria: Overall performance throughout the tournament (goals, assists, defensive contributions, leadership, impact in key matches, etc.).
- Presentation: Awarded immediately after the Final match (typically on the day of the Final).
- Note: The Golden Ball winner does not necessarily come from the championship team (e.g., Forlán 2010, Messi 2014, Modrić 2018 were not champions).
📖 Trivia & Historical Facts
- Lionel Messi is the only player to have won the World Cup Golden Ball twice (2014 and 2022).
- In 1998, Ronaldo suffered a health crisis before the final but still won the Golden Ball based on his overall tournament performance.
- Oliver Kahn (2002) is the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Ball.
- Paolo Rossi (1982) won both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot (6 goals) in the same tournament.
Source: FIFA official records. The 2026 World Cup Golden Ball winner will be announced after the tournament in USA/Canada/Mexico.