Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009. France Football presented him with the award on 1 December 2009 after an outstanding season with Barcelona.
Messi received 473 points, finishing well ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had won the previous Ballon d’Or. Barcelona’s success helped explain the result: in 2009, the club won an unprecedented six major trophies, including La Liga, the Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super Cup, the Spanish Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup.
The award made Messi the first Argentine-born player to win the Ballon d’Or under the modern interpretation of the honor. He later won again in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023. The 2010–12 awards are sometimes called FIFA Ballon d’Or trophies because France Football and FIFA temporarily combined their awards during that period.