When the Ballon d'Or comes down to a point, the regulation steps in
In the grand London Palladium, the lights come on as the seventieth Ballon d’Or ceremony is about to begin, presented by Thierry Henry and Kate Scott. With 48 hours to the final vote, the favourites are already battling for the points that could decide a shared award.
Among Lionel Messi's eight trophies, two were decided by a few points: in 2019, the Argentine striker outpaced the Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk by 7 points (686 to 679), and in 2021 he collected only 33 points more than the Polish scorer Robert Lewandowski (613 to 580).
The closest to winning to date remains the Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario, who in 1996 lost by a single point to the German midfielder Matthias Sammer (144 to 143).
The ceremony, which will take place Monday evening in London, will bring together many contenders: Lamine Yamal, Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Rodri, Michael Olise, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Fabian Ruiz and the title‑holder Ousmane Dembélé.
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Rules in case of a tie
If two players obtain the same number of points, article 8 of the France Football regulations states that they are first separated by the number of first‑place votes, then second‑place, third‑place, and so on.
When the hierarchy of votes is insufficient, article 9 specifies that any dispute will be settled by the editor‑in‑chief of France Football, in his capacity as organiser, to ensure that there is always a designated winner.
Such a scenario remains highly unlikely, but it would inevitably raise the controversy around a shared Ballon d’Or.