Ballon d’Or returns to original format after L’Équipe, FIFA deal ends

FIFA has announced that their Ballon d’Or deal with France Football has ended.


Disgraced FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, brokered a 15 million euros rights deal with Editions Philippe Amaury, publishers of France Football, in 2010.

The two parties have decided not to renew their arrangement to organize the award and the voting pattern will revert to journalists. Players and managers will no longer determine the winner.

This means FIFA may bring back the FIFA World Player award.

Since FIFA’s sponsorship of the Ballon d’Or in 2010, only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have won it. The Barcelona talisman has won four, although the first was under its old name, while Ronaldo scooped the other two.

Lionel Messi has won the prize the most times – the Barcelona forward picked up his record fifth award in 2015.