Since 1991, 14 players have won the FIFA World Player of the Year award. Who is the best? We posted a vote yesterday: VOTE: Pick your top 5 FIFA World Player of the Year award winners! And here are the results:
1. Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards, four of which he won consecutively, and a record five European Golden Shoes. He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won 32 trophies, including nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and six Copas del Rey. Both a prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most official goals scored in La Liga (401), a La Liga season (50), a club football season in Europe (73), a calendar year (91), El Clásico (26), most hat-tricks in the UEFA Champions League (8), as well as those for most assists in La Liga (162) and the Copa América (11). He has scored over 660 senior career goals for club and country.
2. Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional footballer Ronaldo has a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards, the most for a European player, and is the first player to win four European Golden Shoes. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time, he has won 27 trophies in his career, including five league titles, five UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship. A prolific goalscorer, Ronaldo holds the records for most official goals scored in Europe's top-five leagues (409), the UEFA Champions League (121), the UEFA European Championship (9), as well as those for most assists in the UEFA Champions League (34) and the UEFA European Championship (6). He has scored over 690 senior career goals for club and country. Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015.
3. Ronaldinho
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.
4. Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane is a French professional football player. At club level, Zidane won two Serie A league titles, one La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League. Zidane also won an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup. Capped 108 times by France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, while also winning UEFA Euro 2000, being named Player of the Tournament. The World Cup triumph made him a national hero in France, and he received the Legion of Honour in 1998. He also received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup. Zidane received many individual accolades as a player, including being named the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and also winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001, and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. In 2004, he was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll. Zidane is one of eight players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.
5. Ronaldo
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.