Explained: How France Football actually decide the Ballon d’Or shortlist

France Football have begun revealing the shortlist for the annual Ballon d’Or award and, as always, it’s packed with a list of star names and elite talent. 

Five-time Ballon d’Or winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have already been named on the shortlist, as well as some of Europe’s other shining lights from the past 12 months, such as World Cup Golden Boot winner Harry Kane, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and last season’s Champions League final-deciding Welshman, Gareth Bale.

Those names barely scratch the surface of the quality that will stand among the eventual 30-man shortlist but, with all that footballing gold to choose from, how do France Football decide who will be the recipient of the game’s most prestigious individual award?

Here are the selection process and ranking criteria that decide who is crowned as the world’s best footballer.

1. The selection process

The initial 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d’Or is put together by the editorial office at France Football, a French weekly football magazine and one of the most reputable sports publications in the world.

Following this, a jury of specialized journalists is put together, made up of representatives from a multitude of footballing nations. These are the individuals that will be tasked with defining who are the very best of the best in the beautiful game.

2. The criteria and voting process

Following the assembly of the jury, those esteemed individuals are then asked to pick their top five players from the nominees and rank them in descending order of merit.

The criteria that the jury will use to both pick and rank their top fives are as follows:

1. Individual and collective performances (winners) during the year.

2. Player class (talent and fair play).

3. Player’s career.

The top ranking player from each journalist’s pick will receive six points, with the points then dropping to four, three, two and one descending down the rest of their top five picks.

3. Adding up the points and how to settle a tie

After each member of the jury has submitted their top five picks for the Ballon d’Or award, the points are then added up, with the player that receives the highest number of points coming away with the top prize.

However, as is always the risk with points-scoring systems, there is always a chance that the voting will bring about a tie for first place.

In that event, the players are determined by the number of times they are voted in first place. If the tie remains, it then goes to the number of votes in second place, then by the number of times a player is voted in third place. If the tie persists, a new ballot is organized between the tied players.

If any further disputes arise from the voting process, the France Football editorial director, as chairman of the jury, will have the final say.

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