what does the golden ball mean in the world cup
FIFA World Cup awards The Golden Ball award is presented to the best player at each FIFA World Cup finals, with a shortlist drawn up by the FIFA technical committee and the winner voted for by representatives of the media. Those who finish as runners-up in the vote receive the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball awards as the second and third most outstanding players in the tournament respectively. The current award was introduced in the 1982 FIFA World Cup, sponsored by Adidas and France Football, though fifa.com also lists in their player articles as "golden ball winners" Kempes, Cruyff, Pelé, Bobby Charlton, Garrincha and Didi for 1978, 1974, 1970, 1966, 1962 and 1958 respectively.[3] Barcelona is the only club whose players have won the Golden Ball a record 3 times (Johan Cruyff in 1974, Romário in 1994, Lionel Messi in 2014).[4]