UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award

This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 1 December 2024.

The UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award (previously known as the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award) is an association football award given to the footballer playing for a men's football club in Europe that is considered the best in the previous season of both club and national team competition. The award, created in 2011 by UEFA in partnership with European Sports Media (ESM) group, was initially aimed at reviving the European Footballer of the Year Award (Ballon d'Or),[2][3] which was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or.[4] It also replaced the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award.[5]

UEFA Men's Player of the Year
UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award
Sponsored byESM[1]
Presented byUEFA
Formerly calledUEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1998–2010)
UEFA Best Player in Europe (2011–16)
First awarded2011
Last awarded2023
Current holderNorway Erling Haaland
(1st award)
Most awardsPortugal Cristiano Ronaldo
(3 awards)
WebsiteUEFA.com
UEFA Club Football Awards

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the award the most time with 3 awards and is the only player to win it twice in a row.[6][7] Female players are awarded the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award, introduced in 2013.[8]

UEFA partnered with Groupe Amaury to co-organise the Ballon d'Or awards from 2024. The partnership means UEFA's awards for the best player and best coach will cease to exist. But UEFA will continue to present the President's Award as well as prizes for the best player in each of their competitions.[9]

Criteria

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According to UEFA, the award "recognise[s] the best player playing for a football club within the territory of a UEFA member association during the previous season."[2] Players are judged by their performances in all competitions, domestic and international, and at club and national team levels throughout the season.[2]

Voting

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At the beginning, the award's voting format was a return to the old Ballon d'Or, which was decided purely by journalists.[3]

In the first round of voting, 53 sports journalists representing each of the UEFA national associations provided a list of their three best-ranked players from one to three, with the first player receiving five points, the second three points and the third one point. The three players with the most points overall were shortlisted.[2] The jury comprised renowned sports journalists representing each of UEFA's national associations, from RTV Albania to the Daily Post in Wales via members of European Sports Media, with whom UEFA collaborated on this award. The final vote, also by the journalists, then took place live via electronic voting during the presentation ceremony.[2]

In 2017, however, UEFA added 80 coaches, from the clubs that participated in the group stages of that year's UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League, to its jury. The amount of journalists selected by European Sports Media was also increased to 55, representing each of UEFA's member associations.[10]

In 2020/21 UEFA National Team Coaches were added to the jury [11]

In 2022/23 the Coaches from the UEFA Conference League Group stages were added to the jury[12]

Award history

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Cristiano Ronaldo has won the most UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award in history, with three.
 
Lionel Messi is the only non-European player to win the award and one of the two players to win it more than once.
 
Karim Benzema won the award with a record number of points.

Winners

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Season Player Club
UEFA Best Player in Europe Award
2010–11   Lionel Messi   Barcelona
2011–12   Andrés Iniesta   Barcelona
2012–13   Franck Ribéry   Bayern Munich
2013–14   Cristiano Ronaldo   Real Madrid
2014–15   Lionel Messi   Barcelona
2015–16   Cristiano Ronaldo   Real Madrid
UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award
2016–17   Cristiano Ronaldo   Real Madrid
2017–18   Luka Modrić   Real Madrid
2018–19   Virgil van Dijk   Liverpool
2019–20   Robert Lewandowski   Bayern Munich
2020–21   Jorginho   Chelsea
2021–22   Karim Benzema   Real Madrid
2022–23   Erling Haaland   Manchester City

Finalists

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  Winner   Shortlisted

2010–11

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Rank Player First round[5] Final round[13] Club
1   Lionel Messi 38   Barcelona
2   Xavi 11   Barcelona
3   Cristiano Ronaldo 3   Real Madrid
4   Andrés Iniesta 33   Barcelona
5   Radamel Falcao 17   Porto
6   Wayne Rooney 15   Manchester United
7   Nemanja Vidić 5   Manchester United
8   Zlatan Ibrahimović 4   Milan
  Gerard Piqué   Barcelona
10   Manuel Neuer 3   Schalke 04

2011–12

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Rank Player First round[14] Final round[15] Club
1   Andrés Iniesta 19   Barcelona
2   Lionel Messi 17   Barcelona
  Cristiano Ronaldo   Real Madrid
4   Andrea Pirlo 90   Juventus
5   Xavi 57   Barcelona
6   Iker Casillas 53   Real Madrid
7   Didier Drogba 31   Chelsea
8   Petr Čech 14   Chelsea
  Radamel Falcao   Atlético Madrid
10   Mesut Özil 10   Real Madrid

2012–13

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Rank Player First round Final round[16] Club
1   Franck Ribéry 36   Bayern Munich
2   Lionel Messi 14   Barcelona
3   Cristiano Ronaldo 3   Real Madrid
4   Arjen Robben 57   Bayern Munich
5   Robert Lewandowski 39   Borussia Dortmund
6   Thomas Müller 38   Bayern Munich
7   Bastian Schweinsteiger 32   Bayern Munich
8   Gareth Bale 24   Tottenham Hotspur
9   Zlatan Ibrahimović 14   Paris Saint-Germain
10   Robin van Persie 10   Manchester United

2013–14

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Rank Player First round[17] Final round[18] Club
1   Cristiano Ronaldo 26   Real Madrid
2   Manuel Neuer 19   Bayern Munich
3   Arjen Robben 9   Bayern Munich
4   Thomas Müller 39   Bayern Munich
5   Philipp Lahm 24   Bayern Munich
  Lionel Messi   Barcelona
7   James Rodríguez 16   Monaco
8   Luis Suárez 13   Liverpool
9   Ángel Di María 12   Real Madrid
10   Diego Costa 8   Atlético Madrid

2014–15

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Rank Player First round[19] Final round[20] Club
1   Lionel Messi 49   Barcelona
2   Luis Suárez 3   Barcelona
3   Cristiano Ronaldo 2   Real Madrid
4   Gianluigi Buffon 24   Juventus
5   Neymar 23   Barcelona
6   Eden Hazard 21   Chelsea
7   Andrea Pirlo 12   Juventus
8   Arturo Vidal 11   Juventus
9   Carlos Tevez 8   Juventus
10   Paul Pogba 5   Juventus

2015–16

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Rank Player First round[21] Final round[6] Club
1   Cristiano Ronaldo 40   Real Madrid
2   Antoine Griezmann 8   Atlético Madrid
3   Gareth Bale 7   Real Madrid
4   Luis Suárez 29   Barcelona
5   Lionel Messi 25   Barcelona
6   Gianluigi Buffon 19   Juventus
7   Pepe 9   Real Madrid
8   Manuel Neuer 6   Bayern Munich
9   Toni Kroos 5   Real Madrid
10   Thomas Müller 2   Bayern Munich

2016–17

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Rank Player First round[22] Final round[7] Club
1   Cristiano Ronaldo 482   Real Madrid
2   Lionel Messi 141   Barcelona
3   Gianluigi Buffon 109   Juventus
4   Luka Modrić   Real Madrid
5   Toni Kroos   Real Madrid
6   Paulo Dybala   Juventus
7   Sergio Ramos   Real Madrid
8   Kylian Mbappé   Monaco
9   Robert Lewandowski   Bayern Munich
10   Zlatan Ibrahimović   Manchester United

2017–18

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Rank Player Points[23] Club
1   Luka Modrić 313   Real Madrid
2   Cristiano Ronaldo 223   Real Madrid
3   Mohamed Salah 134   Liverpool
4   Antoine Griezmann 72   Atlético Madrid
5   Lionel Messi 55   Barcelona
6   Kylian Mbappé 43   Paris Saint-Germain
7   Kevin De Bruyne 28   Manchester City
8   Raphaël Varane 23   Real Madrid
9   Eden Hazard 15   Chelsea
10   Sergio Ramos 12   Real Madrid

2018–19

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Rank Player Points[24] Club
1   Virgil van Dijk 305   Liverpool
2   Lionel Messi 207   Barcelona
3   Cristiano Ronaldo 74   Juventus
4   Alisson 57   Liverpool
5   Sadio Mané 51   Liverpool
6   Mohamed Salah 49   Liverpool
7   Eden Hazard 38   Chelsea
8   Frenkie de Jong 27   Ajax
  Matthijs de Ligt   Ajax
10   Raheem Sterling 12   Manchester City

2019–20

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Rank Player Points[25] Club
1   Robert Lewandowski 477   Bayern Munich
2   Kevin De Bruyne 90   Manchester City
3   Manuel Neuer 66   Bayern Munich
4   Lionel Messi 53   Barcelona
  Neymar   Paris Saint-Germain
6   Thomas Müller 41   Bayern Munich
7   Kylian Mbappé 39   Paris Saint-Germain
8   Thiago 27   Bayern Munich
9   Joshua Kimmich 26   Bayern Munich
10   Cristiano Ronaldo 25   Juventus

2020–21

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Rank Player Points[26] Club
1   Jorginho 175   Chelsea
2   Kevin De Bruyne 167   Manchester City
3   N'Golo Kanté 160   Chelsea
4   Lionel Messi 148   Barcelona
5   Robert Lewandowski 140   Bayern Munich
6   Gianluigi Donnarumma 49   Milan
7   Kylian Mbappé 31   Paris Saint-Germain
8   Raheem Sterling 18   Manchester City
9   Cristiano Ronaldo 16   Juventus
10   Erling Haaland 15   Borussia Dortmund

2021–22

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Rank Player Points[27][28] Club
1   Karim Benzema 523   Real Madrid
2   Kevin De Bruyne 122   Manchester City
3   Thibaut Courtois 118   Real Madrid
4   Robert Lewandowski 54   Bayern Munich
5   Luka Modrić 52   Real Madrid
6   Sadio Mané 51   Liverpool
7   Mohamed Salah 46   Liverpool
8   Kylian Mbappé 25   Paris Saint-Germain
9   Vinícius Júnior 21   Real Madrid
10   Virgil van Dijk 19   Liverpool
11   Bernardo Silva 7   Manchester City
12   Filip Kostić   Eintracht Frankfurt
13   Lorenzo Pellegrini 5   Roma
14   Trent Alexander-Arnold 2   Liverpool
15   Fabinho 1   Liverpool

2022–23

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Rank Player Points[29][30] Club
1   Erling Haaland 352   Manchester City
2   Lionel Messi 227   Paris Saint-Germain
3   Kevin De Bruyne 225   Manchester City
4   İlkay Gündoğan 129   Manchester City
5   Rodri 110   Manchester City
6   Kylian Mbappé 82   Paris Saint-Germain
7   Luka Modrić 33   Real Madrid
8   Marcelo Brozović 20   Inter Milan
9   Declan Rice 14   West Ham United
10   Alexis Mac Allister 12   Brighton & Hove Albion
11   Jesús Navas 6   Sevilla

By player

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Player Winner Second place Third place
  Cristiano Ronaldo 3 2 4
  Lionel Messi 2 5
  Andrés Iniesta 1
  Franck Ribéry 1
  Luka Modrić 1
  Virgil van Dijk 1
  Robert Lewandowski 1
  Jorginho 1
  Karim Benzema 1
  Erling Haaland 1
  Kevin De Bruyne 3 1
  Manuel Neuer 1 1
  Xavi 1
  Luis Suárez 1
  Antoine Griezmann 1
  Arjen Robben 1
  Gareth Bale 1
  Gianluigi Buffon 1
  Mohamed Salah 1
  N'Golo Kante 1
  Thibaut Courtois 1

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award". European Sports Media. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award launched". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. ^ a b Landolina, Salvatore (18 July 2011). "Uefa Launches Best Player In Europe Award". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  4. ^ "UEFA announces new award". ESPNSoccernet. 18 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  5. ^ a b "UEFA announces Shortlist for UEFA Best Player in Europe". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Cristiano Ronaldo named Best Player in Europe". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Ronaldo named 2016/17 Men's Player of the Year". UEFA.com. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  8. ^ "UEFA launches Best Women's Player in Europe Award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  9. ^ "UEFA to co-organise Ballon D'Or from 2024". reuters.com. reuters. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  10. ^ "Nominees revealed for 2016/17 UEFA Player of the Year Awards". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Jorginho wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Haalandwins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Messi wins UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2010/11". UEFA.com. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldo up for Best Player Award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Andrés Iniesta wins UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2011/12". UEFA.com. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Franck Ribéry wins UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2012/13 | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Neuer und Robben unter den Top 3 Europas" (in German). FC Bayern München. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  18. ^ "Nadine Kessler and Cristiano Ronaldo voted UEFA Best Players in Europe 2013/14". UEFA.com. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Best Player in Europe: Messi, Ronaldo or Suárez". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  20. ^ "Premio al Mejor Jugador de la UEFA en Europa - 2015". UEFA.com (in Spanish). 11 October 2015. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  21. ^ "Best Player in Europe: Bale, Griezmann or Ronaldo". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
  22. ^ "Buffon, Messi and Ronaldo on Player of the Year shortlist". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
  23. ^ "Luka Modrić wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  24. ^ "Virgil van Dijk wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Robert Lewandowski wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 1 October 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Jorginho wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  27. ^ "UEFA Men's Player of the Year nominees: Benzema, Courtois, De Bruyne". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 August 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  28. ^ "Karim Benzema wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  29. ^ "2022/23 UEFA Men's Player of the Year award nominees announced: Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  30. ^ "Erling Haaland wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
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  NODES
Association 24
INTERN 1
Note 1