The FIFA Ballon d'Or

The FIFA Ballon d'Or, otherwise known as the Golden Ball in English is a yearly award given by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (English: International Federation of Association Football) to the male player considered to have displayed excellent performance in the previous calendar year (i.e 2015 award was given in the year 2016). 

The award is based on votes from national team coaches and captains as well as journalists from around the world. 

The FIFA Ballon d'Or is a product of merger between the France Football Ballon d'Or and the men's FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2010. The France Football Ballon d'Or was awarded to players from between 1956 to 2009 while the FIFA World Player of the Year award had since 2010 become a women-only award. (Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFA_Ballon_d%27Or) 

See pictures below for the winners since 1956 till date. 

Source: http://www.fifa.com/ballon-dor/history/index.html