Karim Benzema received the Golden Ball as the best footballer in the world last season. Real Madrid’s 34-year-old Frenchman finished ahead of Sadio Mané (second) and Kevin De Bruyne (third).

Like last year, the women’s Ballon d’Or went to Barcelona midfielder Alèxia Putellas. Real Madrid’s Belgian Thibaut Courtois was named the best goalkeeper of the past season and 18-year-old Barcelona midfielder Gavi was named the greatest talent.

No Messi or Ronaldo

The renowned prize was awarded to men for the 66th time. Since 2008, the Golden Ball has almost always gone to Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. The only other player to win the Ballon d’Or in the last fourteen years was Luka Modric in 2018.

Last year Messi just trumped the favorite Lewandowski. This drew a lot of criticism, prompting promoter France Football to change the voting procedure. This year, sports journalists from 180 countries were no longer allowed to submit their top 5, but only journalists from countries that are in the top 100 of the FIFA rankings.

Starting this year, some former footballers will also be able to cast their votes as experts. In addition, the award was no longer based on performance in a calendar year, but on performance in a season.

Van Dijk sixteenth

There will be little discussion about this year’s election, as Benzema was the clear favorite beforehand. The striker won the Champions League and the Spanish league with Real Madrid last season. In both competitions he was top scorer with 15 and 27 goals respectively.

Virgil van Dijk was the only Dutchman among the last thirty nominees. The Liverpool defender, who finished second to Messi in 2019, has to settle for 16th place this year. Sébastien Haller was rewarded for his performance at Ajax last season, finishing 13th.

The Golden Ball was brought to the ceremony by Formula 1 driver Esteban Ocon.

The forward joined Borussia Dortmund this summer but has yet to play an official game for the German club. The Ivorian was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Haller, who was bald from chemotherapy, was awarded Courtois’ best goalkeeper award.

Five-time winner Ronaldo (37) was only 20 after a disappointing season at his previous club Juventus. Messi, 35, is the record winner with seven Golden Balls but this time he wasn’t even in the top 30.

Miedema eleventh

Putellas is the first woman to win the Golden Ball twice. In 2018, the award was also given to the best female footballer for the first time. Just before the European Championship, Putellas suffered a serious cross-ban injury from which she is still recovering.

Vivianne Miedema was the only Dutch woman in the last twenty. The Arsenal striker finished eleventh. Last year Miedema was fourth.

Ryan Gravenberch (20) was one of the ten nominees in the vote for the greatest talent. The former Ajax midfielder tied for sixth place.

Sadio Mané also won prizes at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris. He received the Socrates Prize, which honors a footballer for his social commitment. The Senegalese spends a large part of his salary on building hospitals and schools in his home country.

The Gerd Müller Prize for the most accurate player went to Robert Lewandowski and Manchester City was named Club of the Year. The last three prizes were awarded for the first time.