How much money will the winner of the Ballon d'Or take home?

This Monday, the Ballon d'Or , one of the most coveted awards for any soccer player, was presented. This award recognizes the best international player of the season each year.

The award carries, above all, prestige since only the best can win it and linked to the history of this award is written by great legends such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Leo Messi or the Spanish Aitana Bonmatí and Alexia Putellas .

The footballers with the most Ballon d'Or awards in history are Leo Messi, with eight , Cristiano Ronaldo, with five, and Michel Platini and Johan Cruyff, with three each. This prestigious award was first presented in 1956 and was awarded to Stanley Matthews.

The women's Ballon d'Or has less history, although symbolically it has the same value as the men's. It was awarded for the first time in 2018 and was presented to Ada Hegerberg. Due to its recent history, only four players have it in their trophy cabinets. The most recent, Aitana Bonmatí, winner in this 2025 edition . Aitana is also the player who has won it the most times (2023, 2024, and 2025).

In football, it's common for players to receive a bonus when they achieve great success, whether at the national team level (European Championship, World Cup, etc.) or at the club level (La Liga, Champions League, etc.). We'll tell you how much money the Ballon d'Or winners could pocket.

This year's winners included names such as Lamine Yamal and Ousmane Dembélé, although the Frenchman ultimately won the Ballon d'Or. In the women's competition, Aitana was the favorite this year, along with Mariona Caldentey, who also won the Champions League with Arsenal, although it was the FC Barcelona player who claimed her third consecutive Ballon d'Or.

The Ballon d'Or weighs 7.2 kg, and its dimensions are 31 cm high, 23 cm long, and 23 cm wide. The base can increase its weight by up to 12 kilos. This trophy is estimated to be worth around 3,000 euros .

However, the value of the sculpture is one thing, and whether the winners receive a check for it is another. Neither the organization nor France Football pays the winners . Thus, the Ballon d'Or is an award that does not directly involve a financial benefit; that is, the winners do not receive any money for winning it.

Although the Ballon d'Or itself is simply an individual recognition that doesn't involve any monetary reward, this is precisely why footballers can increase their earnings.

This happens thanks to sponsorships or clauses they may have in their contracts. For example, Karim Benzema, the 2022 winner, could have taken home half a million euros, while Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi could have taken home three or four million.