There is one obvious common denominator that unites all 69 previous Ballon d’or champions. In the year of their crowning glory each were considered to be incredible talents.

But has there been another factor that has contributed to them taking to the stage in Paris, a reason beyond their phenomenal ability? Does their age come into play, too?

To determine this, let’s revisit the Ballon d’Or annals, crunch the numbers, and arrive at the average age of a winner.

A prime number

Before we do so, however, it is well worth examining a topic that has been debated many times over, a subject that should – in theory – directly correlate with a Ballon d’Or winner’s average age.

It is the judgement of when a footballer hits his absolute career peak.

Naturally, this is difficult to do, with some players enjoying their prime years in their early twenties, and others maturing like a fine wine.

Then there are positions to consider, the general consensus being that goalkeepers improve with experience, while strikers and wingers may explode onto the scene, before trailing off a little when muscle injuries take a toll.

Going with the majority view on this, it is most commonly believed that the career peaks of each position are….

Goalkeepers – 28 to 33

Defenders – 27 to 32

Midfielders – 26 to 30

Forwards/Wingers – 24 to 28

To determine an aggregate age we turn to a study conducted by the BBC in 2014, one that cleverly focused solely on World Cup finalists from 1930 to 2010.

The mean age of the 418 starting players in those finals was 27 years and six months.

This number is as conclusive as can be arrived at.

When a player is 27 years and six months old he is in his absolute prime and – should his talent ceiling be so high – tends to be busy conquering the world.

An almost exact correlation  

The above is a fascinating conclusion when attention is turned to the Ballon d’Or and its long list of illustrious winners.

That’s because when their various ages on receipt of the golden ball are added up, then divided by the number of award ceremonies the mean average age of a Ballon d’Or winner is 28 years and one month.

Given that the award recognises an especially outstanding year accomplished by the player in question there is an almost exact correlation here.

Seven months after hitting their career zenith they are rewarded with the most prestigious individual honour of them all.

A breakdown of ages

The oldest recipient of the Ballon d’Or was also its first, that being Stanley Matthews who collected his award at a civic reception held at Blackpool Town Hall in 1956.

The ‘Wizard of Dribble’ was 41 years and 10 months old when voted ahead of his peers.

The youngest winner was Ronaldo Nazário who was just 21 years and 3 months old when awarded his first of two Ballon d’Or.

Ballon d’Or winners therefore are spread across two decades, from a brilliant Brazilian, in the full flush of youth, to an Englishman, long established as a household name.

A full breakdown of Ballon d’Or winners, by age, is as follows…

21 years – 1 player (Ronaldo Nazário)

22 years – 3 players (Best, Owen, Messi)

23 years – 4 players (Eusébio, Blokhin, Ronaldo, Messi)

24 years – 4 players (Law, Cruyff, Van Basten, Messi)

25 years – 9 players (Suárez, Müller, Simonsen, Rummenigge, Gullit, Van Basten, Ronaldinho, Kaká, Messi)

26 years – 10 players (Sivori, Albert, Rivera, Cruyff, Rummenigge, Rossi, Belanov, Baggio, Zidane, Ronaldo Nazário)

27 years – 5 players (Kopa, Beckenbauer, Cruyff, Keegan, Rivaldo)

28 years – 11 players (Keegan, Platini, Papin, Van Basten, Stoichkov, Figo, Shevchenko, Ronaldo, Messi, Rodri, Dembélé )

29 years – 6 players (Charlton, Platini, Matthäus, Weah, Sammer, Ronaldo)

30 years – 2 players (Platini, Ronaldo)

31 years – 5 players (Di Stéfano, Masopust, Beckenbauer, Nedvěd, Ronaldo)

32 years – 1 player (Messi)

33 years – 3 players (Di Stéfano, Cannavaro, Modrić)

34 years – 3 players (Yashin, Messi, Benzema)

36 years – 1 player (Messi)

41 years – 1 player (Matthews)

Trends through the decades

When revisiting seven decades of the Ballon d’Or - focusing solely on the winner’s age - we discover a couple of interesting trends and quirks?

The first is that in recent times experience clearly counts, just like it did when it all began.

Since 2016, the average age of the winner is 31.7. Between 1956 and 1963 the average age was 31.

What lowers that average to 28.1 overall are the intervening years.

It is also notable that only three winners from 69 have been aged 30 or 32.

There is no reasonable explanation for this besides it being a random oddity.