Copa America: List of all golden ball winners

The award was introduced in 1987.

Copa America is the South American continental championship where the best nations across the continent compete to win the ultimate trophy. It is the third-most-watched football tournament globally.

With its first-ever edition being held in 1916, this prestigious competition is the oldest international continental football tournament in the world. Unlike the 16-team group stage format now, the maiden Copa America was a small tournament with just four teams: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, and Brazil. Ultimately, Uruguay were crowned the inaugural champions (a round-robin format at the time).

Over its 47 iterations, both Uruguay and Argentina are the joint most successful nations in the competition’s history, with a whopping 15 Copa America titles each under their belt.

Following the leaders, Brazil comes in third with an impressive nine Copa America titles in its history. On the other end of the spectrum lie Ecuador and Venezuela, who remain the only two CONMEBOL members to have never clinched the continental title.

In terms of individual achievements, Argentina’s Norberto Méndez and Brazil’s Zizinho hold the record for the joint-most Copa America goals with 17. On the other hand, Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi holds the record for the most appearances in the Copa America with 37 matches played.

The Golden Ball Award is presented to the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament. The Copa America Golden Ball Award was officially introduced in the competition for the first time almost four decades ago, in 1987, with Colombian legend Carlos Valderrama being the first-ever recipient of the coveted honour. On the other hand, Lionel Messi has won the most Golden Ball Awards, with two (2015 & 2021).

List of all Golden Ball winners in the Copa America:

• 1987 – Carlos Valderrama (Colombia)
• 1989 – Rubén Sosa (Uruguay)
• 1991 – Leonardo Rodríguez (Argentina)
• 1993 – Sergio Goycochea (Argentina)
• 1995 – Enzo Francescoli (Uruguay)
• 1997 – Ronaldo (Brazil)
• 1999 – Rivaldo (Brazil)
• 2001 – Amado Guevara (Honduras)
• 2004 – Adriano (Brazil)
• 2007 – Robinho (Brazil)
• 2011 – Luis Suárez (Uruguay)
• 2015 – Lionel Messi (Argentina)
• 2016 – Alexis Sánchez (Chile)
• 2019 – Dani Alves (Brazil)
• 2021 – Lionel Messi (Argentina), Neymar Jr. (Brazil)
• 2024- James Rodriguez (Colombia)

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