On Sunday, Lionel Messi etched his name to the history as World Champion and also became the first player to win multiple Golden Ball at FIFA World Cup, know the award winners of 2022 FIFA World Cup along with all-time Golden Ball winner and prize money
After winning against France in the final of 2022 World Cup, Lionel Messi’s Argentina became world champions for the first time since 1986. In addition to this feat, Lionel Messi was awarded Golden Ball owing to his consistent heroics throughout the tournament.
FIFA World Cup 2022 Golden Ball Winner, All Time Winners List, Prize Money
Lionel Messi: The first player ever to win two adidas Golden Balls!#FIFAWorldCup | #Qatar2022
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 18, 2022
FIFA World Cup Golden Ball History, Format, & List of All-Time Winners
At each FIFA World Cup finals, the best player receives the Golden Ball award; the winner is chosen from a shortlist created by the FIFA technical committee and is decided by media representatives. In addition, Silver Ball and Bronze Ball are given to the second- and third-best players in the competition, which go to the 2nd and 3rd ranked player in the voting. The current trophy was first presented during the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which was sponsored by Adidas and France Football.
Italy’s Paolo Rossi was the winner of inaugural Golden Ball in 1982 with Argentinian legend Diego Maradona bagging the award in 1986 World Cup, where he guided Argentina to win. In 2010, Uruguay’s Diego Forlan was announced as the Golden Ball winner, while Lionel Messi won his first Golden Ball in 2014 thanks to Argentina’s strong finish as runner-up. Despite losing in the final of 2018 World Cup with Croatia, Luka Modric was awarded with Golden Ball.
| Year | Hosts | Golden Ball | Silver Ball | Bronze Ball |
| 1982 | Spain | Italy Paolo Rossi | Brazil Falcão | West Germany Karl-Heinz Rummenigge |
| 1986 | Mexico | Argentina Diego Maradona | West Germany Harald Schumacher | Denmark Preben Elkjær |
| 1990 | Italy | Italy Salvatore Schillaci | West Germany Lothar Matthäus | Argentina Diego Maradona |
| 1994 | United States | Brazil Romário | Italy Roberto Baggio | Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov |
| 1998 | France | Brazil Ronaldo | Croatia Davor Šuker | France Lilian Thuram |
| 2002 | South Korea/Japan | Germany Oliver Kahn | Brazil Ronaldo | South Korea Hong Myung-bo |
| 2006 | Germany | France Zinedine Zidane | Italy Fabio Cannavaro | Italy Andrea Pirlo |
| 2010 | South Africa | Uruguay Diego Forlán | Netherlands Wesley Sneijder | Spain David Villa |
| 2014 | Brazil | Argentina Lionel Messi | Germany Thomas Müller | Netherlands Arjen Robben |
| 2018 | Russia | Croatia Luka Modrić | Belgium Eden Hazard | France Antoine Griezmann |
| 2022 | Qatar | Argentina Lionel Messi | France Kylian Mbappé | Croatia Luka Modrić |
2022 FIFA World Cup: Golden Ball Voting Results & Winner
Thanks to his contribution in guiding Argentina towards their third world cup, Lionel Messi will return home with the Golden Ball from 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is also known as the best player award. Despite a spectacular run in which he scored eight goals, including a hat-trick in the final, Kylian Mbappe had to settle for the Silver Ball. Luka Modric, the Golden Ball winner from the previous competition, received the Bronze Ball for his assistance in Croatia’s third-place performance.
While the golden ball winner isn’t given any prize money, Argentina pocketed a neat $42 million for winning the trophy.
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