Ballon d'Or 2005

Europe's Footballer of the Year
Ronaldinho

The 50th Ballon d'Or ( French for Golden Ball ) as European Footballer of the Year 2005 was given to Ronaldinho from FC Barcelona on November 28, 2005 . The Brazilian won the election by a clear margin over the Englishmen Frank Lampard ( Chelsea FC ) and Steven Gerrard ( Liverpool FC ). This choice was as clear as seldom before: Of the 52 jurors, 50 gave Ronaldinho at least one point. Only the editorial offices from Wales and the Faroe Islands did not name him as one of the 5 best players. And Ronaldinho was even number one on 33 ballots.

1. Ronaldinho ( FC Barcelona ), 225 points
2. Frank Lampard ( Chelsea FC ), 148
3. Steven Gerrard ( Liverpool FC ), 142
4. Thierry Henry ( Arsenal FC ), 41
5. Andrij Shevchenko ( AC Milan ), 33
6. Paolo Maldini ( AC Milan ), 23
7. Adriano ( Inter Milan ), 22
8. Zlatan Ibrahimović ( Juventus Turin ), 21
9. Kaká ( AC Milan ), 19
10. Samuel Eto'o ( FC Barcelona ) and John Terry ( FC Chelsea ), each 18

Michael Ballack ( FC Bayern Munich ) finished 14th with 7 points; his club mate Roy Makaay , also on the shortlist of 50 candidates, received no point. This shortlist provided by France Football has now sparked considerable criticism (including in France itself and Germany) because almost exclusively players whose clubs played in the UEFA Champions League were nominated.