| 2007 Ballon d'Or | |
|---|---|
 2007 Ballon d'Or winner Kaká | |
| Date | 2 December 2007 |
| Location | Paris, France |
| Country | France |
| Presented by | France Football |
| Highlights | |
| Won by |  Kaká (1st award) |
| Website | www |
The 2007 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded to Kaká.[1][2] This was the first year in which players from clubs outside the UEFA federation were eligible for nomination; this change also led to an increase in the voting pool to include journalists from outside UEFA countries.[3]
Kaká was the fourth Brazilian national to win the award after Ronaldo (1997, 2002), Rivaldo (1999), and Ronaldinho (2005). He was the sixth Milan player to win the trophy after Gianni Rivera (1969), Ruud Gullit (1987), Marco van Basten (1988, 1989, 1992), George Weah (1995), and Andriy Shevchenko (2004).
The ceremony is notable as Kaká was the last player to win the Ballon d'Or before the Messi–Ronaldo dominance of the award. In 2018, Croatian Luka Modrić ended the 10-year dominance following his win that year.
- ^ "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 2007". RSSSF. 9 October 2008. Archived from the original on 24 October 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ "Kakà, King of the World". France Football. 2 December 2007. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.
- ^ "Kaka wins 2007 award". BBC Sport. 1 December 2008. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 5 December 2008.