European Player of the Year

Updated August 28, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

European Player of the Year

Officially, the “Ballon d'Or,” or “Golden Ball,” and presented by France Football magazine since 1956. Candidates are limited to European players in European leagues and winners are selected by a poll of European soccer journalists.

Multiple winners:Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco Van Basten (3); Franz Beckenbauer, Alfredo di Stéfano, Kevin Keegan, Ronaldo and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (2).

Year Nat'l Team
1956 Stanley Matthews, Blackpool England
1957 Alfredo di Stéfano, Real Madrid Arg./Spain
1958 Raymond Kopa, Real Madrid France
1959 Alfredo di Stéfano, Real Madrid Arg./Spain
1960 Luis Suarez, Barcelona Spain
1961 Enrique Sivori, Juventus Arg./Italy
1962 Josef Masopust, Dukla Prague Czech.
1963 Lev Yashin, Dinamo Moscow Soviet Union
1964 Denis Law, Manchester United Scotland
1965 Eusébio, Benfica Portugal
1966 Bobby Charlton, Manchester United England
1967 Florian Albert, Ferencvaros Hungary
1968 George Best, Manchester United No. Ireland
1969 Gianni Rivera, AC Milan Italy
1970 Gerd Muller, Bayern Munich W. Ger.
1971 Johan Cruyff, Ajax Amsterdam Netherlands
1972 Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich W. Ger.
1973 Johan Cruyff, Barcelona Netherlands
1974 Johan Cruyff, Barcelona Netherlands
1975 Oleg Blokhin, Dinamo Kiev Soviet Union
1976 Franz Beckenbauer, Bayern Munich W. Ger.
1977 Allan Simonsen, B. Mönchengladbach Denmark
1978 Kevin Keegan, SV Hamburg England
1979 Kevin Keegan, SV Hamburg England
1980 K.H. Rummenigge, Bayern Munich W. Ger.
1981 K.H. Rummenigge, Bayern Munich W. Ger.
1982 Paolo Rossi, Juventus Italy
1983 Michel Platini, Juventus France
1984 Michel Platini, Juventus France
1985 Michel Platini, Juventus France
1986 Igor Belanov, Dinamo Kiev Soviet Union
1987 Ruud Gullit, AC Milan Netherlands
1988 Marco Van Basten, AC Milan Netherlands
1989 Marco Van Basten, AC Milan Netherlands
1990 Lothar Matthäus, Inter Milan W. Ger.
1991 Jean-Pierre Papin, Marseille France
1992 Marco Van Basten, AC Milan Netherlands
1993 Roberto Baggio, Juventus Italy
1994 Hristo Stoitchkov, Barcelona Bulgaria
1995George Weah, AC MilanLiberia
1996Matthias Sammer, Bor. DortmundGermany
1997Ronaldo, Inter MilanBrazil
1998Zinedine Zidane, JuventusFrance
1999Rivaldo, BarcelonaBrazil
2000Luis Figo, Real MadridPortugal
2001Michael Owen, LiverpoolEngland
2002 Ronaldo, Real MadridBrazil
2003 Pavel Nedved, JuventusCzech Republic

Women's World Player of the YearAnnual AwardsSouth American Player of the Year
Annual Awards: Soccer Players, Sports
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