The Ballon d’Or has always been a topic of hot debates over the years, with the sentiments of so many fans involved; there is always discontent around the results.
Every year, someone who ‘deserved to win’ misses out; there’s always a player who feels robbed, and the only thing guaranteed is the outrage on social media and controversy. This is bound to happen when you give an individual an award in a team sport, with everyone having their personal biases.
And when Cristiano Ronaldo comes out and says “𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐝’𝐎𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲!” it just adds fuel to the fire.
Over the years, the Global Soccer Awards, dubbed as the ‘Dubai d’Or’ has always seemed to get the right winners; in fact, in the last 5 years, 4 times we have seen different winners in both the awards.
This is where some fans feel that the Global Soccer Awards has been more fair as compared to the Ballon d’Or, but let’s dive a little deeper and see how both of these awards have panned out in the last 5 years.
Ballon d’Or vs Dubai d’Or
2020:
This was the infamous Covid year, where the Ballon d’Or wasn’t awarded, and even in a season when no one won the Ballon d’Or, it still did not escape controversy, since many believed Robert Lewandowski deserved to win the award.
The Ballon d’Or was not awarded in 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the football calendar. France Football explained that the exceptional circumstances meant the year “could not—and should not—be treated as an ordinary one.”
It did feel unfair because football eventually returned, and the season did end as usual.
Robert Lewandowski and Bayern Munich dominated that season, winning everything. Lewandowski scored 55 Goals that year, including 15 in their Champions League campaign. He was the clear favourite to win the award, but that didn’t happen.
The Global Soccer Awards, on the other hand, did go ahead and they crowned Robert Lewandowski as their best player of the year. He even won the best FIFA men’s player of the year award.
2021
This was the year Leo Messi won his much-awaited first International trophy when Argentina lifted the Copa America.
That season, Messi was doing what Messi did; he scored 38 goals in club competitions and added 4 more in the Copa America, winning 2 major trophies, the Copa del Rey and the Copa America.
The Ballon d’Or went to Leo Messi, but not without controversy.
Many argued that Robert Lewandowski had a better season individually; he broke Gerd Müller’s record of most goals in a calendar year with 43 goals in the Bundesliga, but he only had the Bundesliga title to show for it. He finished 2nd just behind Leo Messi.
The same was the case with Kylian Mbappe, who had a fabulous individual season, scoring 42 Goals in 47 Games for PSG. He only won the Nations League with France.
Jorginho, on the other hand, had the trophies he had won the Euros with Italy and the Champions League with Chelsea, but did not have the numbers. But it was enough to secure a well-deserved Podium.
Now the Global Soccer award went to Kylian Mbappe, and Robert Lewandowski won the best FIFA men’s player of the year award.
Out of all three, it was FIFA Best this time, which felt like it had gone to a deserved winner.
2022
Karim Benzema owned the 2021-22 Season. He brought European Glory back to the Santiago Bernabeu, and how.
Karim Benzema had a dream season, he scored 44 Goals for Real Madrid, 15of which came in the Champions League, including back-to-back hat-tricks in the knockout stages.
Benzema won the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, being the top scorer in both of these competitions.
Karim Benzema won the Ballon d’Or fair and square—no debates, no competition. He even bagged the Global Soccer Award, making it the only time in the last five years that the same player has won both.
2023
This was the year after Messi won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina.
Messi won his 8th Ballon d’Or that year, for the performance he gave in the FIFA World Cup; he was the best player of the tournament and obviously a World Champion. He didn’t have a very good club season, and his numbers too were underwhelming when compared to Leo Messi’s standards.
This was also the season when Erling Haaland burst onto the scene with Manchester City, who won the Treble that year. In his debut season, Haaland scored 52 Goals, breaking the record of Alan Shearer for most goals in a Premier League season.
Erling Haaland had a great season both individually and collectively, which is why many fans believed that Haaland should have won the Ballon d’Or ahead of Messi, but it’s hard to compete against a World Cup campaign like Leo Messi’s.
Erling Haaland did win the Global Soccer award, and the FIFA Best went to Leo Messi again.
This Year, it felt like Global Soccer got it right with their award.
2024
This perhaps was the most controversial year; it had everything: last-minute surprises, boycotts, and, as some people suggest, ‘Robbery’
Rodri went on to win the Ballon d’Or because of his performance in the UEFA Euros with Spain, where he was the best player of the tournament, helping Spain lift the trophy after 12 years. Rodri also won the Premier League with Manchester City. Interestingly Manchester City Player of the Year award and the Premier League Player of the Year award went to his teammate Phil Foden.
Now here is where things get interesting. Real Madrid won the Champions League and La Liga that year, with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius leading the charge. Everyone believed till the very last moment that Vini Jr. had done enough to be crowned as the Ballon d’Or winner, but he was snubbed at the very last moment because Brazil was knocked out early in the Copa America.
Jude Bellingham also had a fantastic debut season at Real Madrid, and he went on to the Final of the Euros, eventually losing to Spain. Dani Carvajal had won it all with Real Madrid and Spain while being influential at the back for both teams. But they all missed out on the Ballon d’Or.
Real Madrid boycotted the ceremony as they felt wronged; they did not understand the criteria by which the winner was decided. Many fans also felt the same way.
Global Soccer Awards recognized Vini Jr. as their best player of the year, and Vini also won the FIFA Best award.
Again, the Global Soccer Awards and FIFA seemed to crown a more deserving winner.
2025
This year was probably the closest contested race for the Ballon d’Or in recent years.
Ousmane Dembele won his first Ballon d’Or and deservedly so. PSG won the quadruple, including their first-ever UEFA Champions League title, and Dembele was pivotal in their campaign.
Many will argue that Lamine Yamal and Raphina produced the numbers in a more competitive league. Among all the contenders, Raphina did have the best season individually, along with Mohammed Salah.
Salah only won the Premier League, and the early exit from the Champions League meant he finished out of the podium. In Raphina’s case, Barcelona missed the Champions League, and the votes split between him and Yamal also did not help him.
The Ballon d’Or rankings this year have been all over the place. Raphina missing out on the podium is perhaps the biggest head turner. It would be interesting to see who claims the Dubai d’or this year at the Global Soccer awards, and also the Best FIFA Men’s player of the year award.
Is the Dubai d’Or better than the Ballon d’Or?
At the end of the day, it really comes down to perspective. Both awards run on votes, both have their own criteria, and both are influenced by the natural biases of the people casting those votes. That means controversy will always be part of the package—because football is emotional, and fans will always feel their favourite has been overlooked.
Sometimes the Ballon d’Or gets it right, sometimes the Dubai d’Or does. What’s certain is that no award will ever fully satisfy everyone—unless a player has a season so extraordinary, like Karim Benzema in 2022, that there’s simply no room for debate.
The Ballon d’Or is obviously a more relevant award given its history, but whether it’s a fairer award than the other is debatable.
