IFFHS World's Best Player

Football award From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The IFFHS World's Best Player is a football award given annually from 1988 to 1990, and since 2020, to the world's best player. The award is given by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

SportAssociation football
Awarded forBest performing man player of the calendar year
Presented byInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics
First award1988
Quick facts Sport, Awarded for ...
IFFHS World's Best Man Player
SportAssociation football
Awarded forBest performing man player of the calendar year
Presented byInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics
History
First award1988
Editions8
First winnerNetherlands Marco van Basten
Most winsNetherlands Marco van Basten
Poland Robert Lewandowski
(2 awards each)
Most recentFrance Ousmane Dembélé
(1st award)
Websitewww.iffhs.com
Close

Men's winners

List of winners

Marco van Basten, first winner of the award in 1988.

From 1991 until 2009, FIFA continued this distinction named "FIFA World Player of the Year"; this award was later replaced by the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and The Best FIFA Men's Player in 2016.[1]

More information Year, Rank ...
Year Rank Winner Club(s) Points
1988 1st Netherlands Marco van Basten[2] Italy Milan 101
2nd Argentina Diego Maradona Italy Napoli 92
3rd Netherlands Ruud Gullit Italy Milan 71
1989 1st Netherlands Marco van Basten[3] Italy Milan 132
2nd Italy Franco Baresi Italy Milan 62
3rd Netherlands Ruud Gullit Italy Milan 57
1990 1st Germany Lothar Matthäus[4] Italy Inter Milan 174
2nd Italy Salvatore Schillaci Italy Juventus 56
3rd Italy Franco Baresi Italy AC Milan 52
England Paul Gascoigne England Tottenham Hotspur
2020 1st Poland Robert Lewandowski[5] Germany Bayern Munich 95%
2021 1st Poland Robert Lewandowski[6][7] Germany Bayern Munich 150
2nd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona
France Paris Saint-Germain		 105
3rd Italy Jorginho England Chelsea 40
2022 1st Argentina Lionel Messi[8][9] France Paris Saint-Germain 275
2nd France Kylian Mbappé France Paris Saint-Germain 35
3rd France Karim Benzema Spain Real Madrid 30
2023 1st Norway Erling Haaland[10][11] England Manchester City 208
2nd France Kylian Mbappé France Paris Saint-Germain 105
3rd Argentina Lionel Messi France Paris Saint-Germain
United States Inter Miami		 85
2024 1st Spain Rodri[12] England Manchester City 191
2nd Brazil Vinícius Júnior Spain Real Madrid 166
3rd England Jude Bellingham Spain Real Madrid 62
2025 1st France Ousmane Dembélé[13] France Paris Saint-Germain 153
2nd Spain Lamine Yamal Spain Barcelona 97
3rd England Harry Kane Germany Bayern Munich 62
Close

Statistics

More information Player, Wins ...
Winners (1988–present)
Player Wins Years
Netherlands Marco van Basten 2 1988, 1989
Poland Robert Lewandowski 2020, 2021
Germany Lothar Matthäus 1 1990
Argentina Lionel Messi 1 2022
Norway Erling Haaland 1 2023
Spain Rodri 1 2024
France Ousmane Dembélé 1 2025
Close
More information Club, Total ...
Wins by club
Club Total Players
England Manchester City 2 2
France Paris Saint-Germain 2 2
Italy Milan 2 1
Germany Bayern Munich 2 1
Italy Inter Milan 1 1
Close
More information Nationality, Total ...
Wins by nationality
Nationality Total Players
Netherlands 2 1
Poland 2 1
Germany 1 1
Argentina 1 1
Norway 1 1
Spain 1 1
France 1 1
Close

Continental winners

Bold indicates the World's Best Man Player winner.

More information Year, Confederation ...
Year Confederation Winner Club(s)
2020 UEFA Poland Robert Lewandowski[14] Germany Bayern Munich
CONMEBOL Argentina Lionel Messi[15] Spain Barcelona
CONCACAF Canada Alphonso Davies[16] Germany Bayern Munich
CAF Senegal Sadio Mané[17] England Liverpool
AFC South Korea Son Heung-min[18] England Tottenham Hotspur
OFC New Zealand Chris Wood[19] England Burnley
2021 UEFA Poland Robert Lewandowski[20] Germany Bayern Munich
CONMEBOL Argentina Lionel Messi[21] Spain Barcelona
France Paris Saint-Germain
CONCACAF Canada Alphonso Davies[22] Germany Bayern Munich
CAF Egypt Mohamed Salah[23] England Liverpool
AFC South Korea Son Heung-min[24] England Tottenham Hotspur
OFC New Zealand Chris Wood[25] England Burnley
2022 UEFA France Kylian Mbappé[26] France Paris Saint-Germain
CONMEBOL Argentina Lionel Messi[27] France Paris Saint-Germain
CONCACAF Canada Alphonso Davies[28] Germany Bayern Munich
CAF Senegal Sadio Mané[29] England Liverpool
Germany Bayern Munich
AFC South Korea Son Heung-min[30] England Tottenham Hotspur
OFC New Zealand Chris Wood[31] England Burnley
England Newcastle United
Close

Men's Historical All-time World Best Players

Lionel Messi, All-time Men's World Best Player.
More information Rank, Player ...
Top 10 players[32]
Rank Player Nationality
1 Lionel Messi  Argentina
2 Pelé  Brazil
3 Diego Maradona  Argentina
4 Cristiano Ronaldo  Portugal
5 Johan Cruyff  Netherlands
6 Ronaldo  Brazil
7 Zinedine Zidane  France
8 Franz Beckenbauer  West Germany
9 Alfredo Di Stéfano  Argentina
 Spain
10 Ronaldinho  Brazil
Close

The World's Best Man Player of the 19th Century (until 1900)

In November 2021 IFFHS announced the Dream Team of the 19th Century and the top 3 players.

Gilbert Oswald Smith, Male Player of the 19th Century.
More information Rank, Player ...
Top 3 players[33]
Rank Player Nationality
1 Gilbert Oswald Smith  England
2 John Goodall  England
3 Steve Bloomer  England
Close

The World's Best Player of the 20th Century (1901–2000)

Pelé, Male Player of the 20th Century.
More information Rank, Player ...
Top 10 players[34][35]
Rank Player Nationality Points
1 Pelé  Brazil 1705
2 Johan Cruyff  Netherlands 1303
3 Franz Beckenbauer  West Germany 1228
4 Alfredo Di Stéfano  Argentina
 Spain		 1215
5 Diego Maradona  Argentina 1214
6 Ferenc Puskás  Hungary 810
7 Michel Platini  France 722
8 Garrincha  Brazil 624
9 Eusébio  Portugal 544
10 Bobby Charlton  England 508
Close

The Best Man Player of the Decade (2011–2020)

More information Confederation, First ...
Confederation First Second Third
World[36] Argentina Lionel Messi Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Spain Andrés Iniesta
UEFA[37] Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Spain Sergio Ramos Germany Manuel Neuer
CONMEBOL[38] Argentina Lionel Messi Brazil Neymar Brazil Dani Alves
CONCACAF[39] Costa Rica Keylor Navas Mexico Javier Hernández United States Clint Dempsey
CAF[40] Egypt Mohamed Salah Senegal Sadio Mané Algeria Riyad Mahrez
AFC[41] South Korea Son Heung-min Japan Keisuke Honda Saudi Arabia Salem Al-Dawsari
OFC[42] New Zealand Chris Wood New Zealand Winston Reid New Zealand Marco Rojas
Close

The Best European Player (1956–1990)

Franz Beckenbauer, Best European Player for the 1956–1990 period.

On 24 April 1990, before the 1990 FIFA World Cup, IFFHS gave out an award for the best European player taking into consideration players who were voted in the shortlist of the France Football's Ballon d'Or from 1956 until 1989.[43]

More information Rank, Player ...
Top 10 players
Rank Player Nationality
1 Franz Beckenbauer  West Germany
2 Michel Platini  France
3 Johan Cruyff  Netherlands
4 Eusébio  Portugal
5 Gerd Müller  West Germany
6 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge  West Germany
7 Luis Suárez  Spain
8 Bobby Charlton  England
9 Alfredo Di Stéfano  Spain
10 Raymond Kopa  France
Close

Men Legends

More information Player, Nationality ...
Phase 1 (48 players)[44]
Player Nationality
Majed Abdullah  Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Aboutrika  Egypt
Roberto Baggio  Italy
Franz Beckenbauer  Germany
David Beckham  England
Bhaichung Bhutia  India
Oleg Blokhin  Ukraine
Cha Bum-kun  South Korea
Antonio Carbajal  Mexico
Bobby Charlton  England
José Luis Chilavert  Paraguay
Tanju Çolak  Turkey
Johan Cruyff  Netherlands
Ali Daei  Iran
Alfredo Di Stéfano  Argentina
Landon Donovan  United States
Mahmoud El Khatib  Egypt
Eusébio  Portugal
Luís Figo  Portugal
Garrincha  Brazil
Paco Gento  Spain
Ryan Giggs  Wales
Ruud Gullit  Netherlands
Hao Haidong  China
Sun Jihai  China
Nwankwo Kanu  Nigeria
Rabah Madjer  Algeria
Diego Maradona  Argentina
Lothar Matthäus  Germany
Stanley Matthews  England
Roger Milla  Cameroon
Gerd Müller  Germany
Hidetoshi Nakata  Japan
Pelé  Brazil
Michel Platini  France
Ferenc Puskás  Hungary
Lucas Radebe  South Africa
Ronaldo  Brazil
Wynton Rufer  New Zealand
Hugo Sánchez  Mexico
Juan Alberto Schiaffino  Uruguay
Marco van Basten  Netherlands
George Weah  Liberia
Jasem Yaqoub  Kuwait
Lev Yashin  Russia
Zico  Brazil
Zinedine Zidane  France
Dino Zoff  Italy
Phase 2 (48 players)[45]
Player Nationality
Franco Baresi  Italy
Gabriel Batistuta  Argentina
Dennis Bergkamp  Netherlands
Zbigniew Boniek  Poland
Roberto Carlos  Brazil
Petr Čech  Czech Republic
Kenny Dalglish  Scotland
Edgar Davids  Netherlands
Alessandro Del Piero  Italy
Didier Drogba  Ivory Coast
Samuel Eto'o  Cameroon
Enzo Francescoli  Uruguay
Gheorge Hagi  Romania
Thierry Henry  France
Oliver Kahn  Germany
Kaká  Brazil
Kevin Keegan  England
Mario Kempes  Argentina
Miroslav Klose  Germany
Ronald Koeman  Netherlands
Philipp Lahm  Germany
Michael Laudrup  Denmark
Younis Mahmoud  Iraq
Paolo Maldini  Italy
Rafael Márquez  Mexico
Pavel Nedvěd  Czech Republic
Mohammed Noor  Saudi Arabia
Jay-Jay Okocha  Nigeria
Abedi Pele  Ghana
Jean-Marie Pfaff  Belgium
Andrea Pirlo  Italy
Carles Puyol  Spain
Raúl  Spain
Frank Rijkaard  Netherlands
Rivaldo  Brazil
Romário  Brazil
Ronaldinho  Brazil
Paolo Rossi  Italy
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge  Germany
Peter Schmeichel  Denmark
Andriy Shevchenko  Ukraine
Hristo Stoichkov  Bulgaria
Davor Šuker  Croatia
Francesco Totti  Italy
Carlos Valderrama  Colombia
Ruud van Nistelrooy  Netherlands
Robin van Persie  Netherlands
Xavi  Spain
Phase 3-A (16 players)[46]
Player Nationality
Gianluigi Buffon  Italy
Iker Casillas  Spain
Zlatan Ibrahimović  Sweden
Andrés Iniesta  Spain
Mesut Özil  Germany
Franck Ribéry  France
Arjen Robben  Netherlands
Daniel Passarella  Argentina
Mikel John Obi  Nigeria
Wayne Rooney  England
Yousuf Al-Thunayan  Saudi Arabia
Mubarak Mustafa  Qatar
Toni Kroos  Germany
Sócrates  Brazil
Philipp Lahm  Germany
Daniele De Rossi  Italy
Close

The Men's Player of the Month

More information Month, Year ...
Month Year Player Club Ref.
January 2025.12025 Egypt Mohamed Salah England Liverpool [47]
February 2025.22025 France Kylian Mbappé Spain Real Madrid [48]
March 2025.32025 Spain Nico Williams Spain Athletic Bilbao [49]
April 2025.42025 Spain Lamine Yamal Spain Barcelona [50]
May 2025.52025 France Désiré Doué France Paris Saint-Germain [51]
June 2025.62025 Portugal Nuno Mendes France Paris Saint-Germain [52]
July 2025.72025 England Cole Palmer England Chelsea [53]
August 2025.82025 Uruguay Giorgian de Arrascaeta Brazil Flamengo [54]
September 2025.92025 Norway Erling Haaland England Manchester City [55]
October 2025.102025 England Harry Kane Germany Bayern Munich [56]
November 2025.112025 England Bukayo Saka England Arsenal [57]
December 2025.122025 France Rayan Cherki England Manchester City [58]
January 2026.12026 Brazil Raphinha Spain Barcelona [59]
February 2026.22026 Brazil Vinícius Júnior Spain Real Madrid [60]
Close

Women's winners

Quick facts Sport, Awarded for ...
IFFHS World's Best Woman Player
SportAssociation football
Awarded forBest performing woman player of the calendar year
Presented byInternational Federation of Football History & Statistics
History
First award2020
Editions5
First winnerDenmark Pernille Harder
Most winsSpain Spain Aitana Bonmatí
(3 awards)
Most recentSpain Aitana Bonmatí
(3rd award)
Websitewww.iffhs.com
Close
Aitana Bonmatí has won the award a record three times in a row.

List of winners

More information Year, Rank ...
Year Rank Winner Club(s) Points
2020 1st Denmark Pernille Harder[61] Germany VfL Wolfsburg
England Chelsea		 –
2nd France Wendie Renard France Lyon –
England Lucy Bronze France Lyon
England Manchester City
2021 1st Spain Alexia Putellas[62] Spain Barcelona 135
2nd Australia Sam Kerr England Chelsea 35
3rd United States Sam Mewis England Manchester City
United States North Carolina Courage		 30
2022 1st Spain Alexia Putellas[63] Spain Barcelona 115
2nd England Beth Mead England Arsenal 55
3rd France Wendie Renard France Lyon 30
2023 1st Spain Aitana Bonmatí[64] Spain Barcelona 202
2nd Spain Salma Paralluelo Spain Barcelona 64
3rd Australia Sam Kerr England Chelsea 59
2024 1st Spain Aitana Bonmatí[65] Spain Barcelona 232
2nd Spain Salma Paralluelo Spain Barcelona 53
3rd Norway Caroline Graham Hansen Spain Barcelona 39
2025 1st Spain Aitana Bonmatí[66] Spain Barcelona 196
2nd England Alessia Russo England Arsenal 70
3rd Spain Mariona Caldentey England Arsenal 55
Close

Statistics

More information Player, Wins ...
Winners (2020–present)
Player Wins Years
Spain Aitana Bonmatí 3 2023, 2024, 2025
Spain Alexia Putellas 2 2021, 2022
Denmark Pernille Harder 1 2020
Close
More information Club, Total ...
Wins by club
Club Total Players
Spain Barcelona 5 2
England Chelsea 1 1
Germany VfL Wolfsburg 1 1
Close
More information Nationality, Total ...
Wins by nationality
Nationality Total Players
Spain 5 2
Denmark 1 1
Close

Continental rankings

Bold indicates the World's Best Woman Player winner.

More information Year, Confederation ...
Year Confederation Winner Club(s)
2020 UEFA Denmark Pernille Harder[67] Germany VfL Wolfsburg
England Chelsea
CONMEBOL Brazil Marta[68] United States Orlando Pride
CONCACAF United States Tobin Heath[69] England Manchester United
CAF Nigeria Asisat Oshoala[70] Spain Barcelona
AFC Japan Saki Kumagai[71] France Lyon
OFC New Zealand Rebekah Stott[72] Australia Melbourne City
2021 UEFA Spain Alexia Putellas[73] Spain Barcelona
CONMEBOL Brazil Marta[74] United States Orlando Pride
CONCACAF United States Sam Mewis[75] England Manchester City
United States North Carolina Courage
CAF Nigeria Asisat Oshoala[76] Spain Barcelona
AFC Australia Sam Kerr[77] England Chelsea
OFC New Zealand Ria Percival[78] England Tottenham Hotspur
2022 UEFA Spain Alexia Putellas[79] Spain Barcelona
CONMEBOL Colombia Linda Caicedo[80] Colombia Deportivo Cali
CONCACAF United States Alex Morgan[81] United States San Diego Wave
CAF Morocco Ghizlane Chebbak[82] Morocco AS FAR
AFC Australia Sam Kerr[83] England Chelsea
OFC New Zealand Claudia Bunge[84] Australia Melbourne Victory
Australia Northern Tigers
Close

Women's Historical All-time World Best Players

Marta, All-time Women's World Best Player.
More information Rank, Player ...
Top 10 players[85]
Rank Player Nationality
1 Marta  Brazil
2 Mia Hamm  United States
3 Christine Sinclair  Canada
4 Kristine Lilly  United States
5 Michelle Akers  United States
6 Sun Wen  China
7 Homare Sawa  Japan
8 Heidi Mohr  Germany
9 Birgit Prinz  Germany
10 Aitana Bonmatí  Spain
Close

The World's Best Woman Player of the Century (1901–2000)

Mia Hamm, Female Player of the 20th Century.

IFFHS gave out an award decided by votes which was conducted with the participation of journalists and former players (no further details given).[86]

More information Rank, Player ...
Top 10 players[87]
Rank Player Nationality Points
1 Mia Hamm  United States 442
2 Michelle Akers  United States 411
3 Heidi Mohr  Germany 250
4 Carolina Morace  Italy 230
5 Sissi  Brazil 212
6 Linda Medalen  Norway 181
7 Liu Ailing  China 165
8 Kristine Lilly  United States 160
9 Heidi Støre  Norway 141
10 Pia Sundhage  Sweden 129
Close

The Best Woman Player of the Decade (2011–2020)

More information Confederation, First ...
Confederation First Second Third
World[88] Brazil Marta United States Carli Lloyd Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán
UEFA[89] Germany Dzsenifer Marozsán Norway Ada Hegerberg France Wendie Renard
CONMEBOL[90] Brazil Marta Brazil Cristiane Brazil Formiga
CONCACAF[91] United States Carli Lloyd United States Alex Morgan United States Megan Rapinoe
CAF[92] Nigeria Asisat Oshoala Cameroon Gabrielle Onguéné Nigeria Ngozi Okobi
AFC[93] Japan Homare Sawa Australia Samantha Kerr Japan Saki Kumagai
OFC[94] New Zealand Ria Percival New Zealand Abby Erceg New Zealand Rebekah Stott
Close

Women Legends

More information Player, Nationality ...
Phase 1 (16 players)[95]
Player Nationality
Michelle Akers  United States
Gao Hong  China
Mia Hamm  United States
Steffi Jones  Germany
Kristine Lilly  United States
Liu Ailing  China
Linda Medalen  Norway
Heidi Mohr  Germany
Carolina Morace  Italy
Perpetua Nkwocha  Nigeria
Birgit Prinz  Germany
Homare Sawa  Japan
Sissi  Brazil
Heidi Støre  Norway
Pia Sundhage  Sweden
Abby Wambach  United States
Phase 2 (16 players)[96]
Player Nationality
Camille Abily  France
Nadine Angerer  Germany
Louisa Cadamuro  France
Julie Foudy  United States
Carin Jennings-Gabarra  United States
Nadine Keßler  Germany
Hanna Ljungberg  Sweden
Aya Miyama  Japan
Christie Rampone  United States
Hege Riise  Norway
Célia Šašić  Germany
Lotta Schelin  Sweden
Alex Scott  England
Kelly Smith  England
Hope Solo  United States
Sun Wen  China
Phase 3-A (8 players)[97]
Player Nationality
Alex Morgan  United States
Carli Lloyd  United States
Formiga  Brazil
Christine Sinclair  Canada
Megan Rapinoe  United States
Caroline Seger  Sweden
Janine van Wyk  South Africa
Julie Ertz  United States
Close

The Women's Player of the Month

More information Month, Year ...
Month Year Player Club Ref.
January 2025.12025 Mexico Charlyn Corral Mexico Pachuca [98]
February 2025.22025 Australia Mary Fowler England Manchester City [99]
March 2025.32025 Sweden Ellen Wangerheim Sweden Hammarby [100]
April 2025.42025 Spain Clàudia Pina Spain Barcelona [101]
May 2025.52025 Netherlands Jaimy Ravensbergen Netherlands Twente [102]
June 2025.62025 Sweden Felicia Schröder Sweden Häcken [103]
July 2025.72025 England Chloe Kelly England Arsenal [104]
August 2025.82025 Mexico Montserrat Saldívar Mexico Club América [105]
September 2025.92025 Malawi Temwa Chawinga United States Kansas City Current [106]
October 2025.102025 Netherlands Esmee Brugts Spain Barcelona [107]
November 2025.112025 Japan Momoko Tanikawa Germany Bayern Munich [108]
December 2025.122025 Colombia Linda Caicedo Spain Real Madrid [109]
January 2026.12026 England Carly Johns Scotland Heart [110]
February 2026.22026 Brazil Kerolin England Manchester City [111]
Close

See also

References

Related Articles

Wikiwand AI