From Ronaldo to Luka Modric: Here Are The Previous Winners of the Best Player Award at the World Cup

• The 2022 FIFA World Cup is set to begin on Sunday, November 20 in Qatar after a four-year wait since 2018
• The World Cup since 1982 has provided the best players of the tournament with the Golden Ball award
• Several players including Diego Maradona, Ronaldo and recently Luka Modric have won the award

With some few hours to the official commencement of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the argument over who wins the best player at the tournament has already began with names such as Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Ronaldo sprouted around.

France head into the tournament as defending champions and key forward Karim Benzema, another player expected to compete for the accolade has been ruled out due to injury.

Four years ago his Real Madrid teammate Luka Modric was adjudged best player at the World Cup after leading Croatia to the final, where they lost to France.

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As to whether he will defend his trophy depends on how well Croatia perform once again at the global showpiece.

However, the tournament has since 1982 awarded best players with the Golden Ball award and on Sports Brief winner we look at the previous winners of the award.

Paolo Rossi- 1982

The first winner of the Golden Ball award at the World Cup. Rossi led Italy to the 1982 World Cup triumph after scoring six goals. He also won the Golden Boot award after finishing as top scorer.

Diego Armando Maradona- 1986

Maradona was the star of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The former Argentina captain singlehandedly carried his nation to success and is fondly remembered at the tournament for his famous 'hand of god' goal against England. His outstanding performances saw him win the best player award.

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Salvatore Schillaci- 1990

Schillaci commonly known as Toto was a surprise star at the 1990 World Cup. The former Juventus and Inter Milan forward surprisingly dethroned Maradona to win the Golden Ball award after scoring six goals at Italia 90. He also finished as the top scorer at the tournament.

Romario- 1994

Now the senator of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The former Barcelona forward stole the show at the 1994 World Cup, scoring five goals to lead Brazil to success in the United States. He scored in each of the first three games at the World Cup in 1994.

Ronaldo- 1998

Fellow Brazilian, Ronaldo was the star of the 1998 World Cup in France. Although Brazil lost in the final to France 3-0, it was enough for the striker, who was sick before the last game to win the best player award.

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Oliver Kahn- 2002

The former Germany goalkeeper is the first goalkeeper to win the Golden Ball award at the World Cup. Kahn was only unlucky not to have won the World Cup because of the exploits of Brazilian forward Ronaldo, who scored twice against Kahn in the final in Yokohama.

Zinedine Zidane- 2006

Zidane's 2006 World Cup was marred in controversy during the final against Italy after he headbutted Marco Materazzi. However, his splendid performances during the knockout stages made his an overwhelming winner of the award.

Pundits believe had Zidane stayed till the end of the game against Italy, France would have been champions in Germany.

Diego Forlan- 2010

In South Africa, it was a Diego Forlan World Cup. His scored that freekick against Ghana in the famous quarter-final game as the inaugural World Cup winners reached the final four. He was top scorer at the tournament.

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Lionel Messi- 2014

Messi carried Argentina through to the final in Brazil but in front of a huge and expectant Argentine fans at the Maracana, it was Germany that prevailed. The tournament was one of Messi's best in the While and Blue jersey of Argentina. He will be looking forward to winning the award again in Qatar.

Luka Modric- 2018

Four years ago Modric almost made history with Croatia, leading the dark horses of the tournament to the final against France. Modric was the centre piece of everything positive in the Croatian team.