FIFA World Player of the Year

The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.

FIFA World Player of the Year
Ronaldo, the youngest recipient of the award aged 20, won it three times.
Presented byFIFA
First awarded1991
Last awarded2009
Most awardsFrance Zinedine Zidane
Brazil Ronaldo
(3 awards each)
Websitefifa.com
RelatedFIFA Ballon d'Or
The Best FIFA Men's Player
FIFA Women's World Player of the Year
Marta, the youngest recipient of the award aged 20, won it five times.
Presented byFIFA
First awarded2001
Last awarded2015
Most awardsBrazil Marta (5 awards)
Websitefifa.com
RelatedThe Best FIFA Women's Player

Originally a single award for the world's best men's player, parallels awards for men and women were awarded from 2001 to 2009. The men's award was subsumed into the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010 while the women's award remained until 2015. After 2015 both men's and women's awards became part of The Best FIFA Football Awards.

During the men's era, Brazilian players won 8 out of 19 years, compared to three wins – the second most – for French players. In terms of individual players, Brazil again led with five, followed by Italy and Portugal with two each.[1][2] The youngest winner was Ronaldo, who won at 20 years old in 1996, and the oldest winner was Fabio Cannavaro, who won aged 33 in 2006.[3][4] Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane each won the award three times, while Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were the only players to win in successive years. From 2010 to 2015, the equivalent men's award was the FIFA Ballon d'Or, following a merging of the FIFA World Player of the Year and the France Football Ballon d'Or awards.[5][6] Since 2016, the awards have been replaced by The Best FIFA Men's Player and The Best FIFA Women's Player awards.[7]

Eight women's footballers – three Germans, three Americans, one Brazilian, and one Japanese – have won the award. Marta, the youngest recipient at age 20 in 2006, has won five successive awards, the most of any player. Birgit Prinz won three times in a row and Mia Hamm won twice in a row. The oldest winner is Nadine Angerer, who was 35 when she won in 2013; she is also the only goalkeeper of either sex to win.

Voting and selection process

The winners are chosen by the coaches and captains of national teams as well as by international media representatives invited by FIFA.[8] In a voting system based on positional voting, each voter is allotted three votes, worth five points, three points and one point, and the three finalists are ordered based on total number of points. Following criticism from some sections of the media over nominations in previous years, FIFA has since 2004 provided shortlists from which its voters can select their choices.[9]

FIFA World Player of the Year

Ronaldo (left) and Zinedine Zidane (right) each won the award three times.
Year Rank Player Team Points
1991 1st Germany Lothar Matthäus Italy Inter Milan 128
2nd France Jean-Pierre Papin France Marseille 113
3rd England Gary Lineker England Tottenham Hotspur 40
1992 1st Netherlands Marco van Basten Italy Milan 166
2nd Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov Spain Barcelona 88
3rd Germany Thomas Häßler Italy Roma 61
1993 1st Italy Roberto Baggio Italy Juventus 152
2nd Brazil Romário[note 1] Spain Barcelona 84
3rd Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp[note 2] Italy Inter Milan 58
1994 1st Brazil Romário Spain Barcelona 346
2nd Bulgaria Hristo Stoichkov Spain Barcelona 100
3rd Italy Roberto Baggio Italy Juventus 80
1995 1st Liberia George Weah[note 3] Italy Milan 170
2nd Italy Paolo Maldini Italy Milan 80
3rd Germany Jürgen Klinsmann[note 4] Germany Bayern Munich 58
1996 1st Brazil Ronaldo[note 5] Spain Barcelona 329
2nd Liberia George Weah Italy Milan 140
3rd England Alan Shearer[note 6] England Newcastle United 123
1997 1st Brazil Ronaldo[note 7] Italy Inter Milan 480
2nd Brazil Roberto Carlos Spain Real Madrid 85
3rd Netherlands Dennis Bergkamp England Arsenal 62
France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus
1998 1st France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus 518
2nd Brazil Ronaldo Italy Inter Milan 164
3rd Croatia Davor Šuker Spain Real Madrid 108
1999 1st Brazil Rivaldo Spain Barcelona 543
2nd England David Beckham England Manchester United 194
3rd Argentina Gabriel Batistuta Italy Fiorentina 79
2000 1st France Zinedine Zidane Italy Juventus 370
2nd Portugal Luís Figo[note 8] Spain Real Madrid 329
3rd Brazil Rivaldo Spain Barcelona 263
2001 1st Portugal Luís Figo Spain Real Madrid 250
2nd England David Beckham England Manchester United 238
3rd Spain Raúl Spain Real Madrid 96
2002 1st Brazil Ronaldo[note 9] Spain Real Madrid 387
2nd Germany Oliver Kahn Germany Bayern Munich 171
3rd France Zinedine Zidane Spain Real Madrid 148
2003 1st France Zinedine Zidane Spain Real Madrid 264
2nd France Thierry Henry England Arsenal 200
3rd Brazil Ronaldo Spain Real Madrid 176
2004 1st Brazil Ronaldinho Spain Barcelona 620
2nd France Thierry Henry England Arsenal 552
3rd Ukraine Andriy Shevchenko Italy Milan 253
2005 1st Brazil Ronaldinho Spain Barcelona 956
2nd England Frank Lampard England Chelsea 306
3rd Cameroon Samuel Eto'o Spain Barcelona 190
2006 1st Italy Fabio Cannavaro[note 10] Spain Real Madrid 498
2nd France Zinedine Zidane Spain Real Madrid 454
3rd Brazil Ronaldinho Spain Barcelona 380
2007 1st Brazil Kaká Italy Milan 1,047
2nd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 504
3rd Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo England Manchester United 426
2008 1st Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo England Manchester United 935
2nd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 678
3rd Spain Fernando Torres England Liverpool 203
2009 1st Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 1,073
2nd Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo[note 11] Spain Real Madrid 352
3rd Spain Xavi Spain Barcelona 196

Source:[1]

From 2010 to 2015, the award was merged with the Ballon d'Or to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership with France Football. In 2016, FIFA rebranded the award as The Best FIFA Men's Player.

A single article from the Portuguese magazine A Bola reporting about the 1992 award mentions the former award winners Lothar Matthäus in 1991, but also Diego Maradona in 1990. There is no other evidence of the award being presented by FIFA prior to 1991.[10]

Wins by player

Player Winner Runner-up Third place
France Zinedine Zidane 3 (1998, 2000, 2003) 1 (2006) 2 (1997, 2002)
Brazil Ronaldo 3 (1996, 1997, 2002) 1 (1998) 1 (2003)
Brazil Ronaldinho 2 (2004, 2005) 1 (2006)
Argentina Lionel Messi 1 (2009) 2 (2007, 2008)
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 1 (2008) 1 (2009) 1 (2007)
Portugal Luís Figo 1 (2001) 1 (2000)
Brazil Romário 1 (1994) 1 (1993)
Liberia George Weah 1 (1995) 1 (1996)
Italy Roberto Baggio 1 (1993) 1 (1994)
Brazil Rivaldo 1 (1999) 1 (2000)
Germany Lothar Matthäus 1 (1991)
Netherlands Marco van Basten 1 (1992)
Italy Fabio Cannavaro 1 (2006)
Brazil Kaká 1 (2007)

Wins by country

Country Players Total
 Brazil 5 8
 Italy 2 2
 Portugal 2 2
 France 1 3
 Germany 1 1
 Netherlands 1 1
 Liberia 1 1
 Argentina 1 1

Wins by club

Club Players Total
Spain Barcelona 5 6
Spain Real Madrid 4 4
Italy Milan 3 3
Italy Juventus 2 3
Italy Inter Milan 2 2
England Manchester United 1 1

FIFA Women's World Player of the Year

Year Rank Player Team Points
2001 1st United States Mia Hamm United States Washington Freedom 154
2nd China Sun Wen United States Atlanta Beat 79
3rd United States Tiffeny Milbrett United States New York Power 47
2002 1st United States Mia Hamm United States Washington Freedom 161
2nd Germany Birgit Prinz Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt
United States Carolina Courage
96
3rd China Sun Wen United States Atlanta Beat
China Shanghai SVA
58
2003 1st Germany Birgit Prinz United States Carolina Courage
Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt
268
2nd United States Mia Hamm United States Washington Freedom 133
3rd Sweden Hanna Ljungberg Sweden Umeå IK 84
2004 1st Germany Birgit Prinz Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 376
2nd United States Mia Hamm United States Washington Freedom 286
3rd Brazil Marta Brazil Santa Cruz
Sweden Umeå IK
281
2005 1st Germany Birgit Prinz Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 513
2nd Brazil Marta Sweden Umeå IK 429
3rd United States Shannon Boxx United States Ajax America Women 235
2006 1st Brazil Marta Sweden Umeå IK 475
2nd United States Kristine Lilly Sweden KIF Örebro DFF 388
3rd Germany Renate Lingor Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 305
2007 1st Brazil Marta Sweden Umeå IK 988
2nd Germany Birgit Prinz Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 507
3rd Brazil Cristiane Germany VfL Wolfsburg 150
2008 1st Brazil Marta Sweden Umeå IK 1,002
2nd Germany Birgit Prinz Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 328
3rd Brazil Cristiane[note 12] Brazil Corinthians 275
2009 1st Brazil Marta[note 13] Brazil Santos 833
2nd Germany Birgit Prinz Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 290
3rd England Kelly Smith[note 14] United States Boston Breakers 252
2010 1st Brazil Marta United States FC Gold Pride 38.20%
2nd Germany Birgit Prinz Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 15.18%
3rd Germany Fatmire Bajramaj Germany 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 9.96%
2011 1st Japan Homare Sawa Japan INAC Kobe Leonessa 28.51%
2nd Brazil Marta[note 15] United States Western New York Flash 17.28%
3rd United States Abby Wambach United States magicJack 13.26%
2012 1st United States Abby Wambach Unattached 20.67%
2nd Brazil Marta Sweden Tyresö FF 13.50%
3rd United States Alex Morgan United States Seattle Sounders 10.87%
2013 1st Germany Nadine Angerer[note 16] Australia Brisbane Roar 18.85%
2nd United States Abby Wambach United States Western New York Flash 15.02%
3rd Brazil Marta Sweden Tyresö FF 14.02%
2014 1st Germany Nadine Keßler Germany VfL Wolfsburg 17.52%
2nd Brazil Marta[note 17] Sweden FC Rosengård 14.16%
3rd United States Abby Wambach United States Western New York Flash 13.33%
2015 1st United States Carli Lloyd United States Houston Dash 35.28%
2nd Germany Célia Šašić Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 12.60%
3rd Japan Aya Miyama Japan Okayama Yunogo Belle 9.88%

Source:[1]

In 2016, FIFA created The Best FIFA Women's Player award instead.

Wins by player

Player 1st 2nd 3rd
Brazil Marta 5 (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) 4 (2005, 2011, 2012, 2014) 2 (2004, 2013)
Germany Birgit Prinz 3 (2003, 2004, 2005) 5 (2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010)
United States Mia Hamm 2 (2001, 2002) 2 (2003, 2004)
United States Abby Wambach 1 (2012) 1 (2013) 2 (2011, 2014)
Japan Homare Sawa 1 (2011)
Germany Nadine Angerer 1 (2013)
Germany Nadine Keßler 1 (2014)
United States Carli Lloyd 1 (2015)

Wins by country

Country Players Total
 Germany 3 5
 Brazil 1 5
 United States 3 4
 Japan 1 1

Wins by club

Club Players Total
Germany 1. FFC Frankfurt 1 3
Sweden Umeå IK 1 3
United States Washington Freedom 1 2
Brazil Santos 1 1
Japan INAC Kobe Leonessa 1 1
Australia Brisbane Roar 1 1
Germany VfL Wolfsburg 1 1
United States Houston Dash 1 1

See also

Notes

  1. Romário was signed by Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven midway through 1993.
  2. Bergkamp was signed by Inter Milan from Ajax midway through 1993.
  3. Weah was signed by Milan from Paris Saint-Germain midway through 1995.
  4. Klinsmann was signed by Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur midway through 1995.
  5. Ronaldo was signed by Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven midway through 1996.
  6. Shearer was signed by Newcastle United from Blackburn Rovers midway through 1996.
  7. Ronaldo was signed by Inter Milan from Barcelona midway through 1997.
  8. Figo was signed by Real Madrid from Barcelona midway through 2000.
  9. Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Inter Milan midway through 2002.
  10. Cannavaro was signed by Real Madrid from Juventus midway through 2006.
  11. Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Manchester United midway through 2009.
  12. Cristiane was signed by Corinthians from Linköpings F.C. midway through 2008.
  13. Marta was signed by Santos from Los Angeles Sol midway through 2009.
  14. Smith was signed by Boston Breakers from Arsenal Ladies midway through 2009.
  15. Marta was signed by Western New York Flash from Santos midway through 2011.
  16. Angerer was signed by Brisbane Roar from 1. FFC Frankfurt midway through 2013.
  17. Marta was signed by FC Rosengård from Tyresö FF midway through 2014.

References

  1. "FACTSheet FIFA awards" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. "FIFA Awards". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  3. "Brazil legend Ronaldo retires from football". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  4. "Cannavaro discusses highs and lows". Football Federation Australia. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  5. "The FIFA Ballon d'Or is born". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 8 July 2010. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  6. "FIFA Ballon d'Or World Player of the Year: Award History". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  7. "The birth of The Best FIFA Football Awards". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
  8. "Messi, Lloyd, Luis Enrique and Ellis triumph at FIFA Ballon d'Or 2015". FIFA. 12 January 2016. Archived from the original on January 12, 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  9. "Thirty-five stars make Zurich shortlist". FIFA.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  10. "Guerin Sportivo World Player of the Year awards 1979-1986". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
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