Like the Nobel Prizes or Oscars, football has its own awards to honour and celebrate brilliance in a sport which is probably the most popular of any human endeavours.
The Ballon d'Or winners are selected by a panel of select journalists while The Best is adjudged a collection of judges covering almost all stakeholders in the game.
Like the Nobel Prizes or Oscars, football has its own awards to honour and celebrate brilliance in a sport which is probably the most popular of any human endeavours.
Two of the most famous awards are those of Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best.
Ahead of tonight's 2018 Ballon d'Or gala in Paris, here's a look at two awards and why fans all over the world are often confused between the two.
Ballon d'Or is the original, if we may, annual award to honour the best footballer in the world. It started as a continental award for the European players; but in 1995, Liberian great George Weah won it in his first year of eligibility as the award becomes global.
Voted for by football journalists, it was conceived by France Football writer Gabriel Hanot in 1956, and it has been continued non-stop.
In 2010, it joined hands with the sport's global governing body to jointly award FIFA Ballon d'Or. The partnership lasted for five years, with FIFA starting its own award, again – this time calling it The Best.
FIFA had its World Player of the Year, which was active from 1991 and 2010. The FIFA Best was introduced with an aim to revive the World Player of the Year award.
The Ballon d'Or winners are selected by a panel of select journalists while The Best is adjudged a collection of journalists, National team coaches, National Team captains and the general public, following a complex system.