| In a nutshell: |
Europe's most prestigious award, created back in 1956 by France Football magazine.
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| Awarded to: |
Until 1995 it was only open to footballers of European nationality.
However, since then it has been opened up to anyone playing for a European club.
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| Voted by: |
The award is voted for by a number of European football journalists.
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| When: |
Annually, in December.
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| Worth a mention: |
1. France Football creates a list of candidates (at the moment 50), each voting journalist then picks 5 of these players
and gives them 1,2,3,4 or 5 points.
2. 3 players have won the award 3 times - Cruyff, Platini and Marco van Basten.
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European Footballer of the Year (Ballon d'Or) Award 