The Golden Foot award is an international football award, given to players who stand out for their athletic achievements (both as individuals and team players) and for their personality. The award is only given to active players of at least 28 years of age, and can only be won once.
Since 2003, 16 players have won this award. So, who is the best Golden Foot award winners? Show your opinion by voting them!
1. Roberto Baggio(2003)
Roberto Baggio is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder. Renowned for his curling free-kicks, dribbling skills, and goalscoring, Baggio is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. In 1999, he came fourth in the FIFA Player of the Century internet poll, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team in 2002. In 1993, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year and won the Ballon d'Or. Baggio is the only Italian to score in three World Cups(1990,1994,1998), and with nine goals holds the record for most goals scored in World Cup tournaments for Italy, along with Paolo Rossi and Christian Vieri. Baggio has won two Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Cup. He was inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2011.
2. Pavel Nedved(2004)
Pavel Nedved is a Czech footballer who played as a midfielder. Winning the Ballon d'Or as European Footballer of the Year in 2003, Nedved was the second Czech player to receive the honour. During his career Nedved received a number of other individual awards, including the second Golden Foot award in 2004, Czech Footballer of the Year (four times) and the Golden Ball (six times). He was placed in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005. He retired following the 2008–09 season, after a 19-year professional career. Nedved played 501 league matches at club level (scoring 110 goals), and was capped 91 times for the Czech Republic (scoring 18 times).
3. Andriy Shevchenko(2005)
Andriy Shevchenko is a footballer who played for Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine national team as a striker. Shevchenko's career has been highlighted by many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Ballon d'Or in 2004. He won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 with Milan, and he has also won various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy and England. He was also an UEFA Champions League runner-up in 2005 and 2008. He was named in the FIFA World XI for 2005.
4. Ronaldo(2006)
Ronaldo is a Brazilian footballer who played as a striker. By 23, he had scored over 200 goals for club and country. Ronaldo won the FIFA World Player of the Year in 1996, 1997 and 2002, the Ballon d'Or in 1997 and 2002, and the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 1998. He was La Liga Best Foreign Player in 1997 and he was named Serie A Footballer of the Year in 1998. He was inducted into the Brazilian Football Museum Hall of Fame and the Italian Football Hall of Fame. Ronaldo played for Brazil in 98 matches, scoring 62 goals. Ronaldo was the youngest member of the Brazilian squad that won the 1994 FIFA World Cup. At the 1998 World Cup, he received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament. He won a second World Cup in 2002. Ronaldo scored twice in the final and received the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer. During the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo scored his 15th World Cup goal. He also won the Copa América in 1997, where he was player of the tournament, and 1999, where he was top goalscorer.
5. Alessandro Del Piero(2007)
Alessandro Del Piero is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a deep-lying forward. Del Piero has scored in every competition in which he has participated. In 2004, he was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the 125 greatest living footballers selected by Pelé as a part of FIFA's centenary celebrations. In the same year, he was also voted into the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, a list of the 50 best European players of the past 50 years.[27] Along with six awards in Italy for gentlemanly conduct, he has also won the Golden Foot award, which pertains to personality as well as playing ability.
6. Roberto Carlos(2008)
Roberto Carlos is a Brazilian professional footballer. He has been described as the "most offensive-minded left-back in the history of the game". Carlos is also widely considered one of the best left backs in history. He played in three World Cups, helping the team reach the final in 1998 in France, and win the 2002 tournament in Korea/Japan. He was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team in 1998 and 2002. With 125 caps he has made the second most appearances for his national team. In 1997, he was runner-up in the FIFA World Player of the Year. He was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team.
7. Ronaldinho(2009)
Ronaldinho is a Brazilian former professional footballer. Ronaldinho played 97 matches for the Brazil national team, scoring 33 goals and representing his country in two FIFA World Cups. He was named in the 2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. As captain, he led Brazil to their second Confederations Cup title in 2005 and was named Man of the Match in the final. He played for Paris Saint-Germain in France before signing for Barcelona in 2003. In his second season with Barcelona, he won his first FIFA World Player of the Year award, as Barcelona won La Liga. The seasonfollowed is considered one of the best in his career as he was instrumental in Barcelona winning the UEFA Champions League, as well as another La Liga title, giving Ronaldinho his first career double. Ronaldinho also received his second FIFA World Player of the Year award, as well as the Ballon d'Or. He was included in the UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFA World XI three times, named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 2006 and the South American Footballer of the Year in 2013.
8. Francesco Totti(2010)
Francesco Totti is an Italian former professional footballer who played for Roma and the Italy national team. Totti is considered to be one of the greatest Italian players of all time and Roma's greatest ever player. A 2006 FIFA World Cup winner and UEFA Euro 2000 finalist with Italy, Totti was selected in the All-Star team for both tournaments. He also won several individual awards, notably the 2007 European Golden Shoe and the 2010 Golden Foot. Following his retirement in 2017, Totti was awarded the Player's Career Award and the UEFA President's Award.
9. Ryan Giggs(2011)
Ryan Giggs is a Welsh football player. During his time at United, he won 13 Premier League winner's medals, four FA Cupwinner's medals, three League Cup winner's medals, two UEFA Champions League winner's medals, a FIFA Club World Cup winners medal, an Intercontinental Cup winner's medal, a UEFA Super Cup winner's medal and nine FA Community Shield winner's medals. He was the first player in history to win two consecutive PFA Young Player of the Year awards. He was elected into the PFA Team of the Century in 2007, the Premier League Team of the Decade in 2003, as well as the FA Cup Team of the Century. Giggs holds the record for the most assists in Premier League history, with 271.
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic(2012)
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a forward. He is currently the third-most decorated active footballer in the world, having won 31 trophies in his career. He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country.
11. Didier Drogba(2013)
Didier Drogba is an Ivorian retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the all-time top scorer and former captain of the Ivory Coast national team. He is best known for his career at Chelsea, for whom he has scored more goals than any other foreign player and is currently the club's fourth highest goal scorer of all time. He was named African Footballer of the Year twice, winning the accolade in 2006 and 2009. An Ivory Coast international between 2002 and 2014, Drogba captained the national team from 2006 until his retirement from the Ivory Coast team and is the nation's all-time top goalscorer with 65 goals from 104 appearances.
12. Andres Iniesta(2014)
Andres Iniesta is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder. Iniesta was an integral part of the Barcelona sides that won two historic trebles in 2009 and 2015, and his 33 trophies, which includes nine La Ligas and four UEFA Champions League titles, make him the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time. Since 2009, he has been named in the FIFA World XI nine times and was chosen in the UEFA Team of the Year on six occasions. Iniesta won the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in 2012 and was named the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker in 2012 and 2013.
13. Samuel Eto'o(2015)
Samuel Eto'o is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a striker. In his prime, Eto'o was regarded by pundits as one of the best strikers in the world, and he is regarded as one of the greatest African players of all time, winning the African Player of the Year a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010.
14. Gianluigi Buffon(2016)
Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. With Juventus, he won a record nine Serie A titles, as well as four Coppa Italia titles, and five Supercoppa Italiana titles. Buffon was called up for a record of five FIFA World Cup tournaments (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) since making his debut in 1997. Buffon was the runner-up for the Ballon d'Or in 2006 and was elected to be part of the FIFPro World XI, an honour which he also achieved two more times. He is the first goalkeeper ever to win the Golden Foot Award.
15. Iker Casillas(2017)
Iker Casillas is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. During his highly successful time in Madrid, he won five La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey titles, four Supercopa de España titles, three UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, one Intercontinental Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup. He also amassed 725 appearances for Real Madrid, the second most in club history. He became the nation's first-choice goalkeeper at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and went on to play at UEFA Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup. In 2008, he was made captain, and led the team to that year's European Championship. He also led Spain to their first World Cup in 2010, and retained the European Championship in 2012. In 2014, Casillas also became one of four players to represent Spain at four World Cups.
16. Edinson Cavani(2018)
Edinson Cavani is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker With PSG, Cavani has won four Ligue 1 championships, five Coupes de la Ligue and four Coupes de France. He was named Ligue 1 Player of the Year for the 2016–17 season. He has participated in seven major international tournaments: the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the 2011 Copa América, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2014 World Cup, the 2015 Copa América, the Copa América Centenario and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.