The Most Nail-Biting Ballon d'Or Battles in History—Ranked

Occasionally, the Ballon d'Or competition is a foregone conclusion.

When Lionel Messi captured the award for the third time in 2011, he secured 47.88% of the vote—more than twice the total of his nearest competitor, Cristiano Ronaldo. Five years on, Ronaldo had his moment of redemption, claiming the 2016 award with 745 votes against Messi's 316, following the dissolution of the FIFA-Ballon d'Or partnership.

Yet not every contest has been so clear-cut. Throughout the award's storied history, several victors have prevailed over their rivals by the slimmest of margins, with only a few votes standing between triumph and heartbreak.

Here, Sports Illustrated examines the five tightest Ballon d'Or contests ever recorded.

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5. The Inauguration

1st: Stanley Matthews (47 Points)
2nd: Alfredo Di Stéfano (44 Points)
3rd: Raymond Kopa (33 Points)

The very first Ballon d'Or was settled by a mere three points out of a possible 243, with Blackpool and England icon Sir Stanley Matthews narrowly defeating Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stéfano to etch his name in history.

Di Stéfano and third-place finisher Raymond Kopa would go on to win the following two editions, respectively. So, no hard feelings?

4. Little Giant, Littler Margin

1st: Allan Simonsen (74 Points)
2nd: Kevin Keegan (71 Points)
3rd: Michel Platini (70 Points)

Allan Simonsen earned the nickname "The Little Giant" throughout his playing days, a nod to his 5'5" frame and dynamic playing style that allowed him to find the net with remarkable regularity.

During his stint at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Simonsen secured the Ballon d'Or by an equally slim margin, finishing just three points ahead of Kevin Keegan and four ahead of Michel Platini in the 1977 vote.

Simonsen took the prize after guiding Mönchengladbach to the Bundesliga title and netting in the 1977 European Cup final—despite ending on the losing side—as the Foals fell to (rather fittingly) Keegan's Liverpool.

3. Beckenbauer Wins Battle of the West Germans

1st: Franz Beckenbauer (81 Points)
=2nd: Gerd Müller (79 Points)
=2nd: Günter Netzer (79 Points)

West Germany holds the unique distinction of being the only nation to occupy all three positions on the Ballon d'Or podium in a single year—and it achieved this feat twice.

The first occasion came in 1972, on the back of the country's European Championship victory. Franz Beckenbauer narrowly claimed France Football's coveted prize, finishing just two points ahead of fellow countrymen Gerd Müller and Günter Netzer.

2. Super Sammer

1st: Mattias Sammer (144 Points)
2nd: Ronaldo(143 Points)
3rd: Alan Shearer (107 Points)

The 1996 Ballon d'Or was settled by a single point—the joint-narrowest winning margin in the award's entire history.

Borussia Dortmund and Germany defender Matthias Sammer pipped a young Ronaldo Nazário after steering Dortmund to the Bundesliga title and helping Germany lift the European Championship.

Ronaldo would exact his revenge the very next year, claiming the award at just 21 to become the youngest Ballon d'Or recipient in history.

1. Charlton vs. Eusébio

1st: Bobby Charlton (81 Points)
2nd: Eusébio (80 Points)
3rd: Franz Beckenbauer (59 Points)

A decade after Stanley Matthews's historic win, Sir Bobby Charlton became the second Englishman to lift the Ballon d'Or.

Charlton secured the accolade after playing a pivotal role in England's 1966 World Cup triumph, delivering a standout semifinal performance against Portugal with a brace that proved decisive in a 2–1 victory.

He ultimately edged Portugal's Eusébio—who had scored Portugal's sole goal in that semifinal—by just one point to claim the prestigious prize.

Other Close Ballon d'Or Races

The Ballon d'Or has witnessed plenty of nail-biting finishes over the decades.

In 1969, AC Milan's Gianni Rivera edged Cagliari's Luigi Riva by just four points, becoming the first winner to defeat a fellow countryman for the award.

The FIFA Ballon d'Or era introduced a revised scoring system, with winners in 2010, 2011 and 2012 all surpassing 1,000 points. The voting pool was also broadened to include national team coaches and captains, in addition to journalists.

The tightest race of the joint-award era came in 2013, when Cristiano Ronaldo claimed his first Ballon d'Or as a Real Madrid player—winning 27.99% of the vote compared to Messi's 24.72% and Franck Ribéry's 23.36%.

Six years later, Messi narrowly pipped Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk for the 2019 prize after guiding Barcelona to domestic dominance. Van Dijk, who had led Liverpool to Champions League glory, was widely expected to win, but Messi edged him by just seven points.

Messi was at it again in 2023, beating Manchester City striker Erling Haaland by a mere five points to claim his eighth Ballon d'Or following his role in leading Argentina to World Cup glory.

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Barnaby Lane, widely known as Barney, is a soccer writer for SI FC. With close to a decade of experience in the field, he has contributed to a number of well-known publications across both the United States and the United Kingdom, and has sat down with some of the world's most celebrated athletes—from Usain Bolt and Rafael Nadal to Christian Pulisic (though his most cherished interview to date remains Adebayo Akinfenwa). Barney's area of expertise is Premier League soccer, covering everything from the nostalgia of bygone eras to the modern, dramatically transformed landscape of today's game. He also brings experience reporting on La Liga and Major League Soccer, the latter of which he developed a genuine passion for during his university years at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.