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 by | ESM[1] |
| Presented by | UEFA |
| Formerly called | UEFA Club Footballer of the Year (1998–2010) UEFA Best Player in Europe (2011–16) |
| First awarded | 2011 |
| Last awarded | 2023 |
| Current holder |  Erling Haaland(1st award) |
| Most awards |  Cristiano Ronaldo(3 awards) |
| Website | UEFA.com |
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
editAccording 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
editAt 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
edit
Winners
edit| 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
editWinner Shortlisted
2010–11
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
edit| 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
editReferences
edit- ^ "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award". European Sports Media. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b Landolina, Salvatore (18 July 2011). "Uefa Launches Best Player In Europe Award". Goal.com. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ "UEFA announces new award". ESPNSoccernet. 18 July 2011. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Cristiano Ronaldo named Best Player in Europe". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ a b "Ronaldo named 2016/17 Men's Player of the Year". UEFA.com. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "UEFA launches Best Women's Player in Europe Award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- ^ "UEFA to co-organise Ballon D'Or from 2024". reuters.com. reuters. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Jorginho wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ "Haalandwins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 31 August 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2024.
- ^ "Messi wins UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2010/11". UEFA.com. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldo up for Best Player Award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- ^ "Andrés Iniesta wins UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2011/12". UEFA.com. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "Franck Ribéry wins UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2012/13 | Inside UEFA". UEFA.com. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "Neuer und Robben unter den Top 3 Europas" (in German). FC Bayern München. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- ^ "Nadine Kessler and Cristiano Ronaldo voted UEFA Best Players in Europe 2013/14". UEFA.com. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ "Best Player in Europe: Messi, Ronaldo or Suárez". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Best Player in Europe: Bale, Griezmann or Ronaldo". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "Buffon, Messi and Ronaldo on Player of the Year shortlist". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Jorginho wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.