Forty years of World Cup MVPs, and the award has been snatched by a match-fixing suspect, a goalkeeper, a third-choice striker, and a man who headbutted someone in his final professional game. The FIFA World Cup Golden Ball is many things — but predictable isn't one of them.
Introduced at the 1982 World Cup in Spain and decided by a media vote, the award regularly throws up selections that spark debate. Not every Golden Ball winner lifted the trophy. In fact, some of the most compelling choices came from the losing side.
The winners who defined their eras
Paolo Rossi set the template in 1982 — six goals, the Golden Boot, the title, and the Golden Ball — all after returning from a two-year ban for involvement in a match-fixing and illegal betting scandal. Sport rarely writes a more dramatic comeback arc than that.
Diego Maradona in 1986 barely needs explanation. His quarterfinal against England alone — the Hand of God and the Goal of the Century in the same match — would have justified the award. He finished with five goals and Argentina's second world title.
Then there's Salvatore Schillaci at Italia '90, who walked into the tournament as Italy's third-choice striker and left with both the Golden Ball and the Golden Boot after six goals in seven games. The catch? Italy lost the third-place playoff, making him the first winner to claim the award without winning the tournament.
Romário in 1994 and Ronaldo in 1998 bookended a Brazilian dominance, though Ronaldo's win came despite Brazil losing the final 3-0 to France — a result heavily coloured by a mysterious medical episode involving the striker in the hours before kick-off. He still took the award. Four years later in 2002, he came back and scored the goals that beat Germany in the final, though the Golden Ball that year went to German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn — the only shot-stopper ever to win it. He'd conceded one goal all tournament before Ronaldo put two past him in the final.
The controversial picks and the ones history vindicated
Zinedine Zidane in 2006 is perhaps the most polarising selection on the list. France lost the final to Italy on penalties. Zidane scored the opener, then got sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi. He still won the Golden Ball, in the last competitive match of his career. Make of that what you will.
Diego Forlán's 2010 win in South Africa is underrated. Five spectacular goals with the Adidas Jabulani — a ball most players openly hated — and Uruguay reached the semi-finals. He'd reportedly practised with the ball for months before the tournament. It showed.
- 1982: Paolo Rossi (Italy) — 6 goals, Golden Boot, World Cup winner
- 1986: Diego Maradona (Argentina) — 5 goals, World Cup winner
- 1990: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) — 6 goals, Golden Boot, did not win tournament
- 1994: Romário (Brazil) — World Cup winner
- 1998: Ronaldo (Brazil) — did not win tournament
- 2002: Oliver Kahn (Germany) — only goalkeeper to win the award, did not win tournament
- 2006: Zinedine Zidane (France) — sent off in the final, did not win tournament
- 2010: Diego Forlán (Uruguay) — 5 goals, did not win tournament
- 2014: Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 4 goals, did not win tournament
- 2018: Luka Modrić (Croatia) — won Ballon d'Or same year, did not win tournament
- 2022: Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 7 goals, World Cup winner
Messi's 2014 Golden Ball remains contentious. Argentina lost the final to Germany in extra time via Mario Götze's winner, and the award felt like consolation rather than confirmation. He earned the real version eight years later in Qatar — seven goals, the trophy, the lot. At 35, he finally had the one thing missing from his résumé, and became a two-time Golden Ball winner in the process.
Luka Modrić's 2018 win for a Croatia side that reached the final against France is the one that ages best in hindsight. He won the Ballon d'Or a few months later. Croatia were no fluke — they'd beaten Argentina in the group stage and knocked out Russia, Denmark, and England to get to the final. Modrić was the reason.
Of the eleven winners, only six came from the tournament's winning team. The Golden Ball has never purely been a prize for champions — and that, frankly, makes it more interesting.
