Lionel Messi won the 2015 Ballon d'Or. Honestly, it wasn't even close.
While the debate between Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo usually rages with the intensity of a thousand suns, 2015 felt like one of those rare moments where the footballing world just collectively nodded in agreement. Messi grabbed 41.33% of the total vote. Ronaldo trailed significantly with 27.76%, and Neymar, despite an incredible year, came in third with 7.86%.
It wasn't just about the trophy itself. It was about the statement. After watching Ronaldo scoop up the award in 2013 and 2014, there were whispers. People wondered if Messi was slowing down. Then, 2015 happened. It was the year of the "MSN" trio—Messi, Suárez, and Neymar—and quite frankly, they made professional football look like a game of FIFA played on "Amateur" difficulty.
The Night in Zurich
The gala took place on January 11, 2016, at the Kongresshaus in Zurich. It's funny looking back at the photos. Messi showed up in a relatively sober black suit, a sharp departure from some of his previous choices, like that polka-dot tuxedo or the shimmering burgundy number from years prior. It was as if he knew the performance on the pitch had been loud enough; he didn't need the clothes to talk for him.
When Kaka—the last human to win the award before the alien era of Messi and Ronaldo began—opened the envelope, nobody gasped. It was inevitable. Messi had just led Barcelona to five major trophies in a single calendar year.
Why Messi Won the 2015 Ballon d'Or So Decisively
Numbers don't tell the whole story, but in 2015, they were pretty loud. Messi played 61 games, scored 52 goals, and racked up 26 assists. But if you just look at the stats, you miss the "how."
Think about the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao. You know the one. He picks up the ball near the halfway line, pinned against the touchline by three defenders. He shouldn't have been able to breathe, let alone move. Instead, he danced through them, cut inside, and smashed the ball into the bottom corner. It was a goal that felt like it belonged in a movie, not a high-stakes cup final.
✨ Don't miss: Seattle Seahawks Offense Rank: Why the Top-Three Scoring Unit Still Changed Everything
Then there was the Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. Jerome Boateng is a world-class defender, a World Cup winner. Yet, with one shimmy, Messi turned his legs into jelly. Boateng falling over backwards became the meme of the decade, but it was also the moment everyone knew the 2015 Ballon d'Or was already engraved with Messi's name.
The Treble and Beyond
Barcelona won almost everything. La Liga? Check. The Copa del Rey? Check. The Champions League? They dismantled Juventus in Berlin to take that one too. They even added the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup for good measure.
Luis Enrique had figured out the perfect alchemy. By moving Messi back to the right wing but giving him the freedom to roam as a playmaker, he unlocked a version of Messi that was perhaps more dangerous than the "False 9" version under Pep Guardiola. He wasn't just finishing moves; he was dictating the entire rhythm of the match from forty yards out.
The Rivalry Context
You can't talk about 2015 without mentioning Cristiano Ronaldo. To be fair, Ronaldo’s individual stats were actually insane. He scored 54 goals in 57 games. Purely on a "goals per game" basis, he actually outpaced Messi.
But football isn't played in a vacuum. Real Madrid finished the 2014-15 season without a major trophy. This is where the Ballon d'Or criteria often shift. While it’s an individual award, the voters—national team captains, coaches, and a select group of journalists—almost always lean toward the player who translated those stats into silverware. Ronaldo was a goal-scoring machine, but Messi was a conductor.
Neymar’s presence in the top three was also significant. It marked the first time since 2007 that a Brazilian had been on the podium. Neymar was actually the joint-top scorer in the Champions League that season, alongside Messi and Ronaldo, with ten goals. He was the heir apparent, but in 2015, the King wasn't ready to abdicate.
🔗 Read more: Seahawks Standing in the NFL: Why Seattle is Stuck in the Playoff Purgatory Middle
The "What Ifs" and Misconceptions
One thing people often forget about 2015 was Messi's injury. In late September, he tore a collateral ligament in his knee during a match against Las Palmas. He was out for nearly two months.
Usually, a two-month layoff would kill a Ballon d'Or campaign.
Instead, it almost strengthened his case. When he was gone, we realized just how much he did. And when he returned? He stepped onto the pitch for El Clásico at the Bernabéu as a substitute with Barca already 3-0 up. The sheer aura of him coming off the bench felt like a victory lap.
There's also this weird narrative that Luis Suárez was snubbed. Suárez scored the winning goal in the Champions League final and was arguably the best pure striker in the world that year. He didn't even make the top three. It felt a bit harsh, honestly. Many felt he deserved Neymar's spot on the podium, but the "brand" of Neymar at that time was global and undeniable.
Beyond the Men's Award
It's worth noting that 2015 was a massive year for the sport across the board. Carli Lloyd won the Women’s World Player of the Year after her legendary hat-trick in the World Cup final against Japan. If you want to talk about "clutch" performances, Lloyd’s 2015 is right up there with any year Messi or Ronaldo ever had.
Luis Enrique won the Men's Coach of the Year, and Jill Ellis took the Women's Coach of the Year. It was a year of dominance for the favorites. No Leicester City-style miracles here. Just the best players playing at the peak of their powers.
💡 You might also like: Sammy Sosa Before and After Steroids: What Really Happened
The Legacy of the 2015 Win
This fifth trophy was a milestone. It broke the deadlock. At the time, it put Messi two clear of Ronaldo (5-3). It felt like the definitive answer to the "who is better" question, at least for a while. Of course, Ronaldo would go on a tear after this, winning the next two, but in 2015, the gap between Messi and the rest of the planet felt like a canyon.
It was also the peak of the MSN era. We didn't know it then, but that specific brand of South American magic was fleeting. Within a couple of years, Neymar would head to Paris, and the Barcelona dynasty would start to show its first real cracks. 2015 was the high-water mark.
Understanding the Ballon d'Or Evolution
If you're looking to track how these awards are decided today versus back then, there are a few things to keep in mind. The criteria have sharpened.
- Focus on the Season, not the Year: Back in 2015, the award was based on the calendar year. Now, France Football has shifted it to reflect the European season (August to July). This avoids the confusion of splitting a player's performance across two different halves of different campaigns.
- Individual over Collective: While Messi won in 2015 largely because of his trophies, the new rules theoretically prioritize individual performance and "decisive character" over team trophies. If those rules existed in 2015, would Ronaldo have had a better shot? Probably not, considering Messi's "decisive character" in the big games that year.
- The Voter Pool: The pool has been narrowed to journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations. This was done to eliminate some of the more "sentimental" voting that used to occur in smaller nations.
To truly appreciate what happened in 2015, don't just look at the trophy. Go back and watch the highlights of the Champions League game against Manchester City at the Camp Nou. Messi didn't even score in that game, but he put the ball through James Milner’s legs so cleanly that Pep Guardiola, watching from the stands, had to cover his face in disbelief. That was the 2015 Messi. Pure, unadulterated genius.
If you want to dive deeper into the history of the award, your next step should be looking at the 2010 Ballon d'Or. It remains the most controversial win in Messi's career—unlike 2015, many people still argue he shouldn't have won that one over Wesley Sneijder or Andres Iniesta. Comparing the two years gives you a perfect masterclass in how football politics and performance collide.