Conceived by sports writers Gabriel Hanot and Jacques Ferran, the Ballon d'Or was based exclusively on voting by football journalists up until 2006.

The award became a global prize in 2007 with all professional footballers from around the world being eligible; additionally, coaches and captains of national teams were also given the right to vote, before reverting to just journalists in 2016.

[15] The award became a global prize in 2007 with all professional footballers from clubs around the world being eligible;[16] additionally, coaches and captains of national teams were also given the right to vote,[6][15] before reverting to just journalists in 2016.

[17] Lionel Messi holds the record for most Ballon d'Or wins with eight,[4][18] while five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo earned the most nominations with eighteen.

[4] Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten.

[11][19] With seven awards each, Dutch, German, Portuguese and French players have won the second most Ballons d'Or, underneath Argentina in first with eight.

[18] The award shows a bias in favour of attacking players,[22] and, over time, it has gone to a more exclusive set of leagues and clubs.

[30][37] The Ballon d'Or is awarded based on three main criteria:[36] Nevertheless, critics have occasionally described the award as a "popularity contest",[38][39] criticizing its voting process,[17] its bias in favour of attacking players,[22] and the idea of systematically singling out an individual in a team sport.

Pelé was named the greatest by 17 voters, receiving almost double the number of points earned by the second place, Diego Maradona.

[17][59] 12 out of the 39 Ballons d'Or presented during this time period would have been awarded to South American players; in addition to Pelé—seven times—and Diego Maradona—twice—Garrincha, Mario Kempes, and Romário were retrospectively recognized as worthy winners.