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France Football says winning the FIFA World Cup no longer guarantees the Ballon d’Or, clarifying the award’s selection criteria as the 2026 tournament unfolds across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
In a statement published on its website on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, the magazine and organizers of award revisited the Ballon d’Or’s history and examined how frequently World Cup winners have also taken the individual prize since eligibility expanded beyond European players in 1995.
While several World Cup heroes later claimed the Ballon d’Or, France Football stressed that a single tournament victory is not an automatic ticket to football’s top individual honour.
Past examples of players who completed the World Cup–Ballon d’Or double include England’s Bobby Charlton, Italy’s Paolo Rossi, Germany’s Lothar Matthäus, France’s Zinedine Zidane, Brazil’s Ronaldo and Italy’s Fabio Cannavaro, who won both trophies in 1998, 2002 and 2006 respectively.
The organiser’s statement aims to remind fans and pundits that broader seasonal performance and other criteria are considered in deciding the Ballon d’Or winner, adding, that trend has weakened in recent years.
When Spain lifted the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, the Ballon d’Or went to Lionel Messi rather than Spain’s midfield stars Andrés Iniesta or Xavi.
In 2014, Cristiano Ronaldo took the prize despite Portugal not winning the tournament, finishing ahead of Lionel Messi and Germany’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who had won the World Cup.
A similar outcome occurred in 2018, when Luka Modrić earned the Ballon d’Or after guiding Croatia to the World Cup final, even though his team lost to France.
The World Cup–Ballon d’Or double reappeared in 2022: Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory and then captured the Ballon d’Or the following year.
France Football notes that, since 1995, only four of the seven World Cup-winning players also claimed the Ballon d’Or in the same year, a roughly 57 percent “success rate.”
The magazine’s conclusion is straightforward: lifting the World Cup helps a player’s case, but it isn’t enough on its own.
“Yes, winning the World Cup helps, but it does not guarantee a Ballon d’Or. To win it, you need to have been the best player of the season, not only of the World Cup,” it said.
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