Some interesting facts about the Ballon d'Or - one of the awards greatest awards.
-It was conceived by sports writer Gabriel Hanot in 1956. Stanley Matthews of Blackpool was the inaugural winner of the Ballon d'Or.
-AC Milan's George Weah, the only African recipient, became the first non-European to win the award in the year the rules of eligibility were changed (1995).
-Ronaldo of Internazionale became the first South American winner two years later.
-Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff of Ajax and Barcelona, Michel Platini of Juventus and Marco van Basten of Milan.
-Italian clubs Juventus and Milan had the most winners respectively; six players won eight awards while playing for each club.
Here's a complete list of previous winners of the Ballon d'Or award with the format; Year of winning, the name of the player and his club.
1956- Stanley Matthews (Blackpool)
1957- Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
1958- Raymond Kopa (Real Madrid)
1959- Alfredo Di Stefano (Real Madrid)
1960- Luis Suarez (Barcelona)
1961- Omar Sivori (Juventus)
1962- Josef Masopust (Dukla Prague)
1963- Lev Yashin (Dynamo Moscow)
1964- Denis Law (Manchester United)
1965- Eusebio (Benfica)
1966- Bobby Charlton (Manchester United)
1967- Florian Albert (Ferencvaros)
1968- George Best (Manchester United)
1969- Gianni Rivera (AC Milan)
1970- Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich)
1971- Johan Cruyff (Ajax)
1972- Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
1973- Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
1974- Johan Cruyff (Barcelona)
1975- Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv)
1976- Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich)
1977- Allan Simonsen (Borussia Monchengladbach)
1978- Kevin Keegan (Hamburg)
1979- Kevin Keegan (Hamburg)
1980- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich)
1981- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich)
1982- Paolo Rossi (Juventus)
1983- Michel Platini (Juventus)
1984- Michel Platini (Juventus)
1985- Michel Platini (Juventus)
1986- Igor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv)
1987- Ruud Gullit (AC Milan)
1988- Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1989- Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1990- Lothar Matthaus (Internazionale)
1991- Jean-Pierre Papin (Marseille)
1992- Marco van Basten (AC Milan)
1993- Roberto Baggio (Juventus)
1994- Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona)
1995- George Weah (AC Milan)
1996- Matthias Sammer (Borussia Dortmund)
1997- Ronaldo (Internazionale)
1998- Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid)
1999- Rivaldo (Barcelona)
2000- Luis Figo (Real Madrid)
2001- Michael Owen (Liverpool)
2002- Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2003- Pavel Nedved (Juventus)
2004- Andriy Shevchenko (AC Milan)
2005- Ronaldinho (Barcelona)
2006- Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid)
2007- Kaka (AC Milan)
2008- Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
2009- Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2010- Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2011- Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2012- Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2013- Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2014- Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
2015- Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
2016- TONIGHT (TONIGHT)