The Ballon d'Or trophy has been lifted by some of the greatest footballers in history from Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo.

This year, Messi is eyeing a record-breaking seventh Ballon d'Or title as he goes head-to-head with Robert Lewandowski to be crowned the leading male footballer of 2021.

However, regardless of who lifts France Football's premier prize at the awards gala, we can rest assured that it will write a new chapter in the historic legacy of an accolade that dates back to 1956.

The Ballon d'Or's historic legacy

Sir Stanley Matthews lifted the famous golden football as the competition's inaugural winner, setting the wheels in motion for legends like Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Nazario to triumph.

Since then, the Ballon d'Or has evolved to include non-European and female players, extending its significance within the sport to represent more of the athletes who make it 'the beautiful game'.

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And in celebration of 2021's finest footballers being garlanded in the coming hours, we thought that it would be rude not to look back upon the fascinating history of football's top individual prize.

To do so, we've dug into the Ballon d'Or archives and compiled a devious quiz that will truly the separate the footballing experts from the casual fans when it comes to France Football's accolade.

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ENTER GIVEAWAY

How to mark the quiz

In fact, we've even created a mark scheme that you can compare your results against once you've taken on all 20 questions, so be sure to eye up what you're up against down below:

0-4 marks: Pavel Nedved - did you really deserve the win?

5-9 marks: Luka Modric - maybe a little debatable

10-14 marks: Zidane/Ronaldinho - well deserved

15-19 marks: Ronaldo/Cruyff - a true Ballon d'Or legend

20 marks: Are you Lionel Messi in disguise?

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The ultimate Ballon d'Or quiz

Got it? Right then, be sure to close down Google and channel those brainwaves because only the true footballing boffins amongst you will be able to get full marks on our ultimate Ballon d'Or quiz.