Ballon d'Or 2005

The 2005 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was delivered to the Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho on 28 November 2005. On 24 October 2005, was announced the shortlist of 50 male players compiled by a group of experts from France Football. There were 52 voters, from Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales and Yugoslavia. Each picked a first (5pts), second (4pts), third (3pts), fourth (2pts) and fifth choice (1pt).

Ronaldinho was the third Brazilian to win the award after Rivaldo (1999) and Ronaldo. Petr Čech (Czech Republic) was the top ranked goalkeeper in the list, at 14th plac. Paolo Maldini (Italy) was the best ranked defender, at sixth, while Thierry Henry (France) was the top-ranked forward, at fourth place.