Cristiano Ronaldo leads a list of 30 nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or that does not include a single player from the current world champions Italy.

Real Madrid’s Ronaldo, 24, won the prestigious award last year and will be one of the favourite for this year’s title after his stunning start to his career at the Bernabéu. The Portuguese striker has scored nine goals in seven games since joining the Spanish giants for a world record £80m from Manchester United in the summer.

Ronaldo, who is currently sidelined by an ankle injury, headed Madrid’s significant summer spending which also saw them sign Kaká and Karim Benzema – who were both also included in the list. There was, however, no room for any Italy players. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and Luca Toni were the Azzurri’s only nominees last year.

The European champions Spain are the best represented nation with six players listed, while the Primera Liga boasts the most players from a single league with 12. The Premier League is next best with 10 players while Serie A has just four.

The Champions League and La Liga winners Barcelona top the list in terms of club representation with six players – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Thierry Henry, Andrés Iniesta, Lionel Messi, Yaya Touré and Xavi. Chelsea and Manchester United both had three players selected on the list. The Blues’ nominees are the England captain John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba while United’s selection affords another accolade to the 35-year-old midfielder Ryan Giggs, as well as Wayne Rooney and Nemanja Vidic.

The Ballon d’Or is awarded to the world footballer of the year, and is voted for by journalists and organised by France Football magazine. The winner will be announced on 1 December.

Ballon d’Or 2009 nominees:

Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Diego (Juventus), Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Edin Dzeko (Wolfsburg), Samuel Eto’o (Internazionale), Cesc Fàbregas (Arsenal), Fernando Torres (Liverpool), Diego Forlán (Atletico Madrid), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Ryan Giggs (Manchester United), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Barcelona), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Júlio César (Internazionale), Kaká (Real Madrid), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Maicon (Internazionale), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Luís Fabiano (Seville), Franck Ribéry (Bayern Munich), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), John Terry (Chelsea), Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United), David Villa (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona), Yaya Touré (Barcelona).

Ballon D’Or History

Considered the pinnacle of personal awards in Football, the Ballon d’Or has had a rich history through out the last quarter of a century, indeed no other award can lay claim to the influence the Ballon d’Or has had. Be it the transformation of great players into legendary players or influencing the transfer policies of some of the world’s biggest club.

How did it all come about though? Where did the Ballon d’Or begin? To answer that question we need to look at the man who is considered to be the grand father of European football as we know it today – Gabriel Hanot.

Hanot was a truly remarkable man, a fully capped international for France he would go onto be the Manager of the French national team, whilst at the same time being a Journalist for French Football magazine L’Equipe.

This unconventional arrangement would end in a rather amusing way. After a 5-1 defeat to Spain, Hanot in his role as a Journalist berated the players and then followed up with a unsigned article calling for the resignation of himself. Sure enough, the following day Hanot the coach uncerimonyiasly resigned from his post.

Looking back, European Football can probably be thankful for Hanot’s split personality. With his mangerial career out of the way he was able to focus on Journalism and as a bi product European Football in general. Hanot made three major contributions to European Football as we know it. First he played an important role in Professionalising Football, a trend that would occur all over the World.

His Second achievement was perhaps his most famous, whilst watching Wolves defeat several European opponents, he was struck by their claim that they were now the best team in the world. Inspired, Hanot went about formalising a plan for the first European competition, finally he said we could know just who was the best team in the World! Just like that the European Cup was born, which of course today has involved into the Champions League.

His third idea, whilst perhaps not as famous is what we are concerned about with today. I’m of course talking about the Ballon d’Or. Hanot was occupying the role of Chief Magazine Writer for France Football when he asked his fellow Journalists to vote on who they felt was the best European Footballer over the past season in 1952. The answer was Blackpool’s Sir Stanley Matthews and so just like that the Ballon d’Or was born.

For almost 40 years the award remained unchanged. A select panel of European Journalists would vote on who they felt the best European footballer of the season had been. It wasn’t until 1995 after many years of pressure, that non European players (These non European players had to be plying their trade in Europe however) became eligible for the Ballon d’Or. As fate would have it George Weah the Liberian genius won the award in the very year the rules were first changed!

In 2007 the rules were changed once again to give us the rules that currently exist today. Today any player from any nationality playing in any country can be nominated for the Ballon d’Or. Nominations are now handled by a 96 select Journalists across the world, who select their top five players. Points are assigned for each nomination.

The most recent winner of the Ballon d’Or was of course Cristiano Ronaldo, primarily for his efforts in propelling Manchester United to a league and Champions League double. Ronaldo scored a remarkable 42 goals in that season and won the Ballon d’Or with 446 votes. His nearest rival Leo Messi had 281 votes, whilst Fernando Torres who finished third had 179 votes.

Ballon D’Or Winners:

Year	Place	Player	Nationality	Club	Points
1956	1st	Stanley Matthews	England	Blackpool	047
	2nd	Alfredo di Stéfano	Spain	Real Madrid	044
	3rd	Raymond Kopa	France	Real Madrid	033
1957	1st	Alfredo di Stéfano	Spain	Real Madrid	072
	2nd	Billy Wright	England	Wolverhampton Wanderers	019
	3rd=	Raymond Kopa	France	Real Madrid	016
	3rd=	Duncan Edwards	England	Manchester United	016
1958	1st	Raymond Kopa	France	Real Madrid	071
	2nd	Helmut Rahn	West Germany	Rot-Weiss Essen	040
	3rd	Just Fontaine	France	Stade Reims	023
1959	1st	Alfredo di Stéfano	Spain	Real Madrid	080
	2nd	Raymond Kopa	France	Real Madrid	042
	3rd	John Charles	Wales	Juventus	024
1960	1st	Luis Suárez	Spain	Barcelona	054
	2nd	Ferenc Puskás	Hungary	Real Madrid	037
	3rd	Uwe Seeler	West Germany	Hamburg	033
1961	1st	Omar Sívori	Italy	Juventus	046
	2nd	Luis Suárez	Spain	Internazionale	040
	3rd	Johnny Haynes	England	Fulham	022
1962	1st	Josef Masopust	Czechoslovakia	Dukla Prague	065
	2nd	Eusébio	Portugal	Benfica	053
	3rd	Karl-Heinz Schnellinger	West Germany	Köln	033
1963	1st	Lev Yashin	Soviet Union	Dynamo Moscow	073
	2nd	Gianni Rivera	Italy	Milan	055
	3rd	Jimmy Greaves	England	Tottenham Hotspur	050
1964	1st	Denis Law	Scotland	Manchester United	061
	2nd	Luis Suárez	Spain	Internazionale	043
	3rd	Amancio	Spain	Real Madrid	038
1965	1st	Eusébio	Portugal	Benfica	067
	2nd	Giacinto Facchetti	Italy	Internazionale	059
	3rd	Luis Suárez	Spain	Internazionale	045
1966	1st	Bobby Charlton	England	Manchester United	081
	2nd	Eusébio	Portugal	Benfica	080
	3rd	Franz Beckenbauer	West Germany	Bayern Munich	059
1967	1st	Flórián Albert	Hungary	Ferencváros	068
	2nd	Bobby Charlton	England	Manchester United	040
	3rd	Jimmy Johnstone	Scotland	Celtic	039
1968	1st	George Best	Northern Ireland	Manchester United	061
	2nd	Bobby Charlton	England	Manchester United	053
	3rd	Dragan Džajić	Yugoslavia	Red Star Belgrade	046
1969	1st	Gianni Rivera	Italy	Milan	083
	2nd	Luigi Riva	Italy	Cagliari	079
	3rd	Gerd Müller	West Germany	Bayern Munich	038
1970	1st	Gerd Müller	West Germany	Bayern Munich	077
	2nd	Bobby Moore	England	West Ham United	070
	3rd	Luigi Riva	Italy	Cagliari	065
1971	1st	Johan Cruyff	Netherlands	Ajax	116
	2nd	Sandro Mazzola	Italy	Internazionale	057
	3rd	George Best	Northern Ireland	Manchester United	056
1972	1st	Franz Beckenbauer	West Germany	Bayern Munich	081
	2nd=	Gerd Müller	West Germany	Bayern Munich	079
	2nd=	Günter Netzer	West Germany	Borussia Mönchengladbach	079
1973	1st	Johan Cruyff	Netherlands	Barcelona	096
	2nd	Dino Zoff	Italy	Juventus	047
	3rd	Gerd Müller	West Germany	Bayern Munich	044
1974	1st	Johan Cruyff	Netherlands	Barcelona	116
	2nd	Franz Beckenbauer	West Germany	Bayern Munich	105
	3rd	Kazimierz Deyna	Poland	Legia Warsaw	035
1975	1st	Oleg Blokhin	Soviet Union	Dynamo Kyiv	122
	2nd	Franz Beckenbauer	West Germany	Bayern Munich	042
	3rd	Johan Cruyff	Netherlands	Barcelona	027
1976	1st	Franz Beckenbauer	West Germany	Bayern Munich	091
	2nd	Rob Rensenbrink	Netherlands	Anderlecht	075
	3rd	Ivo Viktor	Czechoslovakia	Dukla Prague	052
1977	1st	Allan Simonsen	Denmark	Borussia Mönchengladbach	074
	2nd	Kevin Keegan	England	Hamburg	071
	3rd	Michel Platini	France	Nancy	070
1978	1st	Kevin Keegan	England	Hamburg	087
	2nd	Hans Krankl	Austria	Barcelona	081
	3rd	Rob Rensenbrink	Netherlands	Anderlecht	050
1979	1st	Kevin Keegan	England	Hamburg	118
	2nd	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	West Germany	Bayern Munich	052
	3rd	Ruud Krol	Netherlands	Ajax	041
1980	1st	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	West Germany	Bayern Munich	122
	2nd	Bernd Schuster	West Germany	Barcelona	034
	3rd	Michel Platini	France	Saint-Étienne	033
1981	1st	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge	West Germany	Bayern Munich	106
	2nd	Paul Breitner	West Germany	Bayern Munich	064
	3rd	Bernd Schuster	West Germany	Barcelona	039
1982	1st	Paolo Rossi	Italy	Juventus	115
	2nd	Alain Giresse	France	Bordeaux	064
	3rd	Zbigniew Boniek	Poland	Juventus	053
1983	1st	Michel Platini	France	Juventus	110
	2nd	Kenny Dalglish	Scotland	Liverpool	026
	3rd	Allan Simonsen	Denmark	Vejle	025
1984	1st	Michel Platini	France	Juventus	128
	2nd	Jean Tigana	France	Bordeaux	057
	3rd	Preben Elkjær	Denmark	Verona	048
1985	1st	Michel Platini	France	Juventus	127
	2nd	Preben Elkjær	Denmark	Verona	071
	3rd	Bernd Schuster	West Germany	Barcelona	046
1986	1st	Igor Belanov	Soviet Union	Dynamo Kyiv	084
	2nd	Gary Lineker	England	Barcelona	062
	3rd	Emilio Butragueño	Spain	Real Madrid	059
1987	1st	Ruud Gullit	Netherlands	Milan	106
	2nd	Paulo Futre	Portugal	Atlético Madrid	091
	3rd	Emilio Butragueño	Spain	Real Madrid	061
1988	1st	Marco van Basten	Netherlands	Milan	129
	2nd	Ruud Gullit	Netherlands	Milan	088
	3rd	Frank Rijkaard	Netherlands	Milan	045
1989	1st	Marco van Basten	Netherlands	Milan	119
	2nd	Franco Baresi	Italy	Milan	080
	3rd	Frank Rijkaard	Netherlands	Milan	043
1990	1st	Lothar Matthäus	Germany	Internazionale	137
	2nd	Salvatore Schillaci	Italy	Juventus	084
	3rd	Andreas Brehme	Germany	Internazionale	068
1991	1st	Jean-Pierre Papin	France	Marseille	141
	2nd=	Dejan Savićević	Yugoslavia	Red Star Belgrade	042
	2nd=	Darko Pančev	Yugoslavia	Red Star Belgrade	042
	2nd=	Lothar Matthäus	Germany	Internazionale	042
1992	1st	Marco van Basten	Netherlands	Milan	098
	2nd	Hristo Stoichkov	Bulgaria	Barcelona	080
	3rd	Dennis Bergkamp	Netherlands	Ajax	053
1993	1st	Roberto Baggio	Italy	Juventus	142
	2nd	Dennis Bergkamp	Netherlands	Internazionale	083
	3rd	Eric Cantona	France	Manchester United	034
1994	1st	Hristo Stoichkov	Bulgaria	Barcelona	210
	2nd	Roberto Baggio	Italy	Juventus	136
	3rd	Paolo Maldini	Italy	Milan	109
1995	1st	George Weah	Liberia	Milan	144
	2nd	Jürgen Klinsmann	Germany	Bayern Munich	108
	3rd	Jari Litmanen	Finland	Ajax	067
1996	1st	Matthias Sammer	Germany	Borussia Dortmund	144
	2nd	Ronaldo	Brazil	Barcelona	143
	3rd	Alan Shearer	England	Newcastle United	107
1997	1st	Ronaldo	Brazil	Internazionale	222
	2nd	Predrag Mijatović	Yugoslavia	Real Madrid	068
	3rd	Zinedine Zidane	France	Juventus	063
1998	1st	Zinedine Zidane	France	Juventus	244
	2nd	Davor Šuker	Croatia	Real Madrid	068
	3rd	Ronaldo	Brazil	Internazionale	066
1999	1st	Rivaldo	Brazil	Barcelona	219
	2nd	David Beckham	England	Manchester United	154
	3rd	Andriy Shevchenko	Ukraine	Milan	064
2000	1st	Luís Figo	Portugal	Real Madrid	197
	2nd	Zinedine Zidane	France	Juventus	181
	3rd	Andriy Shevchenko	Ukraine	Milan	085
2001	1st	Michael Owen	England	Liverpool	176
	2nd	Raúl	Spain	Real Madrid	140
	3rd	Oliver Kahn	Germany	Bayern Munich	114
2002	1st	Ronaldo	Brazil	Real Madrid	169
	2nd	Roberto Carlos	Brazil	Real Madrid	145
	3rd	Oliver Kahn	Germany	Bayern Munich	110
2003	1st	Pavel Nedvěd	Czech Republic	Juventus	190
	2nd	Thierry Henry	France	Arsenal	128
	3rd	Paolo Maldini	Italy	Milan	123
2004	1st	Andriy Shevchenko	Ukraine	Milan	175
	2nd	Deco	Portugal	Barcelona	139
	3rd	Ronaldinho	Brazil	Barcelona	133
2005	1st	Ronaldinho	Brazil	Barcelona	225
	2nd	Frank Lampard	England	Chelsea	148
	3rd	Steven Gerrard	England	Liverpool	142
2006	1st	Fabio Cannavaro	Italy	Real Madrid	173
	2nd	Gianluigi Buffon	Italy	Juventus	124
	3rd	Thierry Henry	France	Arsenal	121
2007	1st	Kaká	Brazil	Milan	444
	2nd	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	Manchester United	277
	3rd	Lionel Messi	Argentina	Barcelona	255
2008	1st	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	Manchester United	446
	2nd	Lionel Messi	Argentina	Barcelona	281
	3rd	Fernando Torres	Spain	Liverpool	179

Ballon D’Or Trivia:

Michel Platini is the only player to have won the award three times in a row; he won the award from 1983 to 1985.

Ronaldo was the first Brazilian to win the award in 1997.

George Weah was the first non european to win the award in 1995.

German and Dutch players each share the record for winning the Ballon d’Or on seven different occasions.

The most successful clubs have been Milan and Juventus, with each team having had six players when the award whilst playing in their colours, although each team has eight awards.