| 2006 Ballon d'Or | |
| Current Awards: | --> |
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| Location: | Paris, France |
| Country: | France |
| Presenter: | France Football |
| Award1 Type: | Won by |
| Award1 Winner: |  Fabio Cannavaro (1st award) |
| Previous: | 2005 |
| Main: | Ballon d'Or |
| Next: | 2007 |
The 2006 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to the Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro on 27 November 2006.[1] On 16 October 2006, was announced the shortlist of 50 male players compiled by a group of experts from France Football.[2] There were 52 voters, from Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales. Each picked a first (5pts), second (4pts), third (3pts), fourth (2pts) and fifth choice (1pt).[3]
Fabio Cannavaro is the most recent defender to have won the award as of 2023.
The following 24 players were originally in contention for the 2006 Ballon d’Or, but did not receive any votes:
France
Brazil
Cameroon
Germany
Portugal
Spain
Argentina
Australia
Mali
Ghana
Ecuador
Netherlands
Ukraine