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, parallel 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of the FIFA World Player of the Year and the France Football Ballon d'Or awards.[5][6] Since 2016, the awards have been replaced by The Best FIFA Men's Player and The Best FIFA Women's Player awards.[7]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

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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

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

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

Wins by country

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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

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

FIFA Women's World Player of the Year

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

Source:[1]

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

Wins by player

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

Wins by country

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

Wins by club

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Club Players Total
  1. FFC Frankfurt 1 3
  Umeå IK 1 3
  Washington Freedom 1 2
  Santos 1 1
  INAC Kobe Leonessa 1 1
  Brisbane Roar 1 1
  VfL Wolfsburg 1 1
  Houston Dash 1 1

See also

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Notes

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  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

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  1. ^ a b c "FACTSheet FIFA awards" (PDF). FIFA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  2. ^ "FIFA Awards". RSSSF.com. Archived from the original on 23 October 2018. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  3. ^ "Brazil legend Ronaldo retires from football". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 19 August 2020. 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.