Complete List of FIFA World Cup Golden Ball Winners
Sports Illustrated revisits World Cup soccer history by listing each Golden Ball winner in the men’s tournament history.
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The FIFA World Cup brings together the best soccer talent from around the globe. But only one can stand above the rest.
The men’s World Cup first took place in 1930, but the inception of the Golden Ball—given to the best individual player for the entire tournament—didn’t take place until 1982. The winner is chosen by members of the media, who vote for a winner from a list of candidates selected by FIFA’s technical committee. The second- and third-place finishers are awarded the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball, respectively.
The award does not always go to a player from the championship-winning team—in fact, more often than not, it doesn’t. To date, 10 Golden Ball prizes have been awarded, with just three playing for the tournament champion.
Croatia’s Luka Modrić won the award in 2018, the most recent iteration of the event. Check out the full list of winners below.