UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award
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 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 | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
| Current holder | Virgil van Dijk (1st award) |
| Most awards | Cristiano Ronaldo (3 awards) |
| Website | uefa.com |
Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player to win the award three times as well as twice in a row.[6][7] Since its inception, the award has been won by Lionel Messi (2011, 2015),[8] Andrés Iniesta (2012),[9] Franck Ribéry (2013),[10] Cristiano Ronaldo (2014, 2016, 2017), Luka Modrić (2018)[11] and Virgil van Dijk (2019).[12] Female players are awarded the UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award, introduced in 2013.[13]
Criteria
According to UEFA, the award "recognise[s] the best player, irrespective of his nationality, 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
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 the European Sports Media association was also increased to 55, representing each of UEFA's member associations.[14]
Award history
Winners
| Year | Player | Club |
|---|---|---|
| UEFA Best Player in Europe Award | ||
| 2010–11 |  |
 |
| 2011–12 | |
|
| 2012–13 |  |
 |
| 2013–14 |  |
|
| 2014–15 | |
|
| 2015–16 | |
|
| UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award | ||
| 2016–17 | |
|
| 2017–18 |  |
|
| 2018–19 |  |
 |
Finalists
Winner Shortlisted
2010–11
| Rank | Player | First round[5] | Final round | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
– | 39 | |
| 2 | |
– | 11 | |
| 3 | |
– | 3 | |
| 4 | |
33 | – | |
| 5 |  |
17 | – | |
| 6 | |
15 | – | |
| 7 |  |
5 | – | |
| 8 |  |
4 | – |  |
|
4 | – | | |
| 10 | |
3 | – | |
2011–12
| Rank | Player | First round[15] | Final round | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
– | 19 | |
| 2 | |
– | 17 | |
|
– | 17 | | |
| 4 | |
90 | – | |
| 5 | |
57 | – | |
| 6 | |
53 | – | |
| 7 |  |
31 | – | |
| 8 |  |
14 | – | |
|
14 | – | | |
| 10 | |
10 | – | |
2012–13
| Rank | Player | First round | Final round | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
– | 36 | |
| 2 | |
– | 14 | |
| 3 | |
– | 3 | |
| 4 | |
57 | – | |
| 5 |  |
39 | – | |
| 6 | |
38 | – | |
| 7 | |
32 | – | |
| 8 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
24 | – | |
| 9 | |
14 | – | |
| 10 | |
10 | – | |
2013–14
| Rank | Player | First round[16] | Final round | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
– | 27 | |
| 2 | |
– | 18 | |
| 3 | |
– | 9 | |
| 4 | |
39 | – | |
| 5 | |
24 | – | |
|
24 | – | | |
| 7 | |
16 | – | |
| 8 |  |
13 | – | |
| 9 | |
12 | – | |
| 10 | |
8 | – | |
2014–15
| Rank | Player | First round[17] | Final round[8] | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
– | 49 | |
| 2 | |
– | 3 | |
| 3 | |
– | 2 | |
| 4 | |
24 | – | |
| 5 |  |
23 | – | |
| 6 | .svg.png){kind=small} |
21 | – | |
| 7 | |
12 | – | |
| 8 |  |
11 | – | |
| 9 | |
8 | – | |
| 10 | |
5 | – | |
2015–16
| Rank | Player | First round[18] | Final round[6] | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
– | 40 | |
| 2 | |
– | 8 | |
| 3 | |
– | 7 | |
| 4 | |
29 | – | |
| 5 | |
25 | – | |
| 6 | |
19 | – | |
| 7 | |
9 | – | |
| 8 | |
6 | – | |
| 9 | |
5 | – | |
| 10 | |
2 | – | |
2016–17
| Rank | Player | First round[19] | Final round[7] | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
– | 482 | |
| 2 | |
– | 141 | |
| 3 | |
– | 109 | |
| 4 | |
– | | |
| 5 | |
– | | |
| 6 | |
– | | |
| 7 | |
– | | |
| 8 | |
– | | |
| 9 | |
– | | |
| 10 | |
– | |
2017–18
| Rank | Player | Points[11] | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
313 | |
| 2 | |
223 | |
| 3 |  |
134 | |
| 4 | |
72 | |
| 5 | |
55 | |
| 6 | |
43 | |
| 7 | |
28 | |
| 8 | |
23 | |
| 9 | |
15 | |
| 10 | |
12 | |
2018–19
| Rank | Player | Points[12] | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
305 | |
| 2 | |
207 | |
| 3 | |
74 | |
| 4 | |
57 | |
| 5 |  |
51 | |
| 6 | |
49 | |
| 7 | |
38 | |
| 8 | |
27 | |
|
27 | | |
| 10 | |
12 | |
Wins by player
| Player | Winner | Second place | Third place |
|---|---|---|---|
|
3 | 2 | 4 |
|
2 | 4 | — |
|
1 | — | — |
|
1 | — | — |
|
1 | — | — |
|
1 | — | — |
References
- "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award". European Sports Media. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
- "UEFA Best Player in Europe Award launched". UEFA. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- 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.
- "UEFA announces Shortlist for UEFA Best Player in Europe". UEFA. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2011.
- "Cristiano Ronaldo named Best Player in Europe". UEFA. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- "Ronaldo named 2016/17 Men's Player of the Year". UEFA. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- "Messi named Best Player in Europe for second time". UEFA. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- "Iniesta wins Best Player in Europe Award". UEFA. 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
- "Franck Ribéry wins UEFA Best Player in Europe Award 2012/13". UEFA. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- "Luka Modrić wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- "Virgil van Dijk wins UEFA Men's Player of the Year award". UEFA. 30 August 2018. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- "UEFA launches Best Women's Player in Europe Award". UEFA. 22 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
- "Nominees revealed for 2016/17 UEFA Player of the Year Awards". UEFA. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
- "Iniesta, Messi, Ronaldo up for Best Player Award". UEFA. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
- "Neuer und Robben unter den Top 3 Europas" (in German). FC Bayern München. 14 August 2014. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
- "Best Player in Europe: Messi, Ronaldo or Suárez". UEFA. 12 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- "Best Player in Europe: Bale, Griezmann or Ronaldo". UEFA. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- "Buffon, Messi and Ronaldo on Player of the Year shortlist". UEFA. 15 August 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.