Europe’s best player is a prestigious title coveted by many footballers. The reason is, those who win this award are often considered the greatest players who are in the Blue Continent.
The awarding of European Player of the Year was first held in 1998 by UEFA. Initially, this award was named UEFA Club Footballer of the Year.
However, since 2011, this award has changed its name to Best Player in Europe (European Player of the Year). Even though the name changed, the concept was the same, namely giving appreciation (awards) to the players with the best performance during one season in European competition.
The player who won the award for the first time was Brazilian football legend, Ronaldo Luis Nazario de Lima, in 1998. In that season, Ronaldo was able to lead Inter Milan to win the European League and bring the Brazilian national team to the World Cup runner-up.
So far, Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is listed as the player who has won the title of European Player of the Year four times. Cristiano Ronaldo won it in 2008 while still at Manchester United, as well as 2014, 2016, 2017, while defending Real Madrid.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo’s eternal rival, Lionel Messi, won this award three times. The player nicknamed La Pulga won it in 2009, 2011 and 2015. In 2009 and 2015 Messi led Barcelona to the treble winner.
Most recently, the status of 2020 European Player of the Year was awarded to Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski. It is not surprising because the Polish bomber successfully brought Bayern the treble winner in the 2019-2020 season.
Not only that, Lewandowski also managed to become the top scorer in three different competitions, namely the German League, Champions League and DFB Pokal. Lewandowski even helped Bayern win the 2020 European Super Cup.
Following is the complete list of UEFA’s version of the European Footballer of the Year:
1998 Ronaldo Inter Milan Brazil Forward
1999 David Beckham Manchester United England Midfielder
2000 Fernando Redondo Real Madrid Argentina Midfielder
2001 Steffen Effenberg Bayern Munich Germany Midfielder
2002 Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid France Midfielder
2003 Gianluigi Buffon Juventus Italy Goalkeeper
2004 Deco FC Porto Portugal Midfielder
2005 Steven Gerrard Liverpool England Midfielder
2006 Ronaldinho Barcelona Brazil Forward
2007 Kaka AC Milan Brazil Midfielder
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United Portugal Forward
2009 Lionel Messi Barcelona Argentina Forward
2010 Diego Milito Inter Milan Argentina Forward
2011 Lionel Messi Barcelona Argentina Forward
2012 Andres Iniesta Barcelona Spain Midfielder
2013 Franck Ribery Bayern Munchen France Midfielder
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Portugal Forward
2015 Lionel Messi Barcelona Argentina Forward
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Portugal Forward
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid Portugal Forward
2018 Luka Modric Real Madrid Croatia Midfielder
2019 Virgil van Dijk Liverpool Netherlands Center-back
2020 Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich Poland Forward
