Gérard Houllier had to go on record to defend Messi's 2014 Golden Ball. That tells you everything about how divisive this award can be — and how interesting its history is.
The Golden Ball, awarded to the standout individual at each men's World Cup, has existed since 1978. It was first handed to Mario Kempes after his six-goal haul fired Argentina to their maiden title on home soil. Six goals, a World Cup, and a Golden Boot to go with it. Clean sweep.
The early editions followed a tidy logic: the best player helped his team win. Paolo Rossi in 1982, Maradona in 1986 — both World Cup winners, both unambiguous choices. Then reality got messier.
The winners who never lifted the trophy
Of the 12 Golden Balls awarded so far, only four went to players who actually won the tournament: Kempes, Rossi, Romário in 1994, and Messi in 2022. The rest? Handed to men whose teams fell short.
Oliver Kahn is the most striking example. The only goalkeeper ever to win the award, Germany's captain kept five clean sheets in seven games at the 2002 World Cup — then made an uncharacteristic error in the final against Brazil that cost his country the title. He still got the Golden Ball. Few would argue it was wrong.
Diego Forlán in 2010 netted five goals for fourth-placed Uruguay, several of them genuinely spectacular. Salvatore Schillaci's six goals for hosts Italy at the 1990 tournament earned him both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot — but Italy went home in third place. The award has never been purely about winning.
Messi's complicated double
No one has won the Golden Ball twice except Messi. His 2022 award was straightforward — he captained Argentina to their third world title, scored seven goals, and was the central figure throughout. No debate.
His 2014 win was a different story. Argentina lost the final to Germany. Messi was quiet in the decisive match, and the decision drew enough criticism that Houllier felt obliged to justify it publicly to Le Monde: "He reached the final, which is one of the criteria for awarding the trophy... he was more than decisive in the first four matches."
Whether you buy that reasoning or not, the photo from that night — Messi cradling the Golden Ball with an expression somewhere between exhausted and devastated — became one of football's more arresting images. Luka Modric, who picked up the 2018 award after Croatia lost the final to France, provided a near-identical tableau.
The TSG — a 13-person committee that now holds sole power over the selection — includes Arsène Wenger, Jürgen Klinsmann, Gilberto Silva, and Tobin Heath for the 2026 edition. Their criteria have never been fully transparent, which is precisely why the award keeps generating arguments worth having.
The full list of Golden Ball winners
- 1978: Mario Kempes, Argentina (also won Golden Boot)
- 1982: Paolo Rossi, Italy (also won Golden Boot)
- 1986: Diego Maradona, Argentina
- 1990: Salvatore Schillaci, Italy (also won Golden Boot)
- 1994: Romário, Brazil
- 1998: Ronaldo Nazário, Brazil
- 2002: Oliver Kahn, Germany
- 2006: Zinedine Zidane, France
- 2010: Diego Forlán, Uruguay
- 2014: Lionel Messi, Argentina
- 2018: Luka Modric, Croatia
- 2022: Lionel Messi, Argentina
For 2026, the early betting has Harry Kane at +700, Lamine Yamal at +800, and Mbappé, Messi, and Michael Olise clustered at +1000. Messi at those odds — potentially chasing a third Golden Ball at 39 — is the kind of bet that says more about sentiment than probability. Kane and Yamal make more structural sense if their teams go deep.
The award has a habit of rewarding players from semifinalists and finalists, regardless of the final result. That's the one consistent thread running through 44 years of winners.
