FIFA world player of the year - wikipedia FIFA world player of the year This article is about the men 's player of the year award from 1991 -- 2009, and the women 's player of the year award from 2001 -- 2015. For the men 's player of the year award from 2010 -- 2015, see FIFA Ballon d'Or. For the men 's award since 2016, see The Best FIFA Men 's Player. For the women 's award since 2016, see The Best FIFA Women 's Player. Brazilians Ronaldo and Marta, the youngest recipients at age 20, won three and five awards respectively. The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport 's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015. Originally an honour awarded to world 's best men 's player from 1991 -- 2000, it was awarded to both men and women from 2001 -- 2009. After 2010, it has been presented exclusively to the best women 's player. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year. During the men 's era, Brazilian players won 8 out of 19 years, compared to three wins -- the second most -- for French players. In terms of individual players, Brazil again led with five, followed by Italy and Portugal with two each. The youngest winner was Ronaldo, who won at 20 years old in 1996, and the oldest winner was Fabio Cannavaro, who won aged 33 in 2006. Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane each won the award three times, while Ronaldo and Ronaldinho were the only players to win in successive years. From 2010 to 2015, the equivalent men 's award was the FIFA Ballon d'Or. Eight women 's footballers -- three Germans, three Americans, one Brazilian, and one Japanese -- have won the award. Marta, the youngest recipient at age 20 in 2006, has won five successive awards, the most of any player. Birgit Prinz won three times in a row and Mia Hamm won twice in a row. The oldest winner is Nadine Angerer, who was 35 when she won in 2013 ; she is also the only goalkeeper of either sex to win. Contents 1 Voting and selection process 2 FIFA World Player of the Year 2.1 Wins by player 2.2 Wins by country 2.3 Wins by club 3 FIFA Women 's World Player of the Year 3.1 Wins by player 3.2 Wins by country 3.3 Wins by club 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References Voting and selection process The winners are chosen by the coaches and captains of national teams as well as by international media representatives invited by FIFA. In a voting system based on positional voting, each voter is allotted three votes, worth five points, three points and one point, and the three finalists are ordered based on total number of points. Following criticism from some sections of the media over nominations in previous years, FIFA has since 2004 provided shortlists from which its voters can select their choices. FIFA world player of the year Year Rank Player Team 1991 1st Lothar Matthäus Internazionale 2nd Jean - Pierre Papin Marseille 3rd Gary Lineker Tottenham Hotspur 1992 1st Marco van Basten Milan 2nd Hristo Stoichkov Barcelona 3rd Thomas Häßler Roma 1993 1st Roberto Baggio Juventus 2nd Romário Barcelona 3rd Dennis Bergkamp Internazionale 1994 1st Romário Barcelona 2nd Hristo Stoichkov Barcelona 3rd Roberto Baggio Juventus 1995 1st George Weah Milan 2nd Paolo Maldini Milan 3rd Jürgen Klinsmann Bayern Munich 1st Ronaldo Barcelona 2nd George Weah Milan 3rd Alan Shearer Newcastle United 1997 1st Ronaldo Internazionale 2nd Roberto Carlos Real Madrid 3rd Dennis Bergkamp Arsenal Zinedine Zidane Juventus 1998 1st Zinedine Zidane Juventus 2nd Ronaldo Internazionale 3rd Davor Šuker Real Madrid 1999 1st Rivaldo Barcelona 2nd David Beckham Manchester United 3rd Gabriel Batistuta Fiorentina 2000 1st Zinedine Zidane Juventus 2nd Luís Figo Real Madrid 3rd Rivaldo Barcelona 2001 1st Luís Figo Real Madrid 2nd David Beckham Manchester United 3rd Raúl Real Madrid 2002 1st Ronaldo Real Madrid 2nd Oliver Kahn Bayern Munich 3rd Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 2003 1st Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 2nd Thierry Henry Arsenal 3rd Ronaldo Real Madrid 1st Ronaldinho Barcelona 2nd Thierry Henry Arsenal 3rd Andriy Shevchenko Milan 2005 1st Ronaldinho Barcelona 2nd Frank Lampard Chelsea 3rd Samuel Eto'o Barcelona 2006 1st Fabio Cannavaro Real Madrid 2nd Zinedine Zidane Real Madrid 3rd Ronaldinho Barcelona 2007 1st Kaká Milan 2nd Lionel Messi Barcelona 3rd Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 2008 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 2nd Lionel Messi Barcelona 3rd Fernando Torres Liverpool 2009 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United 3rd Xavi Barcelona Source : From 2010 to 2015, the world 's best player was awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or. In 2016, FIFA created The Best FIFA Men 's Player to honour the best player around the world. Wins by player Player 1st 2nd 3rd Zinedine Zidane 3 ( 1998, 2000, 2003 ) 1 ( 2006 ) 2 ( 1997, 2002 ) Ronaldo 3 ( 1996, 1997, 2002 ) 1 ( 1998 ) 1 ( 2003 ) Ronaldinho 2 ( 2004, 2005 ) -- 1 ( 2006 ) Lionel Messi 1 ( 2009 ) 2 ( 2007, 2008 ) -- Cristiano Ronaldo 1 ( 2008 ) 1 ( 2009 ) 1 ( 2007 ) Luís Figo 1 ( 2001 ) 1 ( 2000 ) -- Romário 1 ( 1994 ) 1 ( 1993 ) -- George Weah 1 ( 1995 ) 1 ( 1996 ) -- Roberto Baggio 1 ( 1993 ) -- 1 ( 1994 ) Rivaldo 1 ( 1999 ) -- 1 ( 2000 ) Lothar Matthäus 1 ( 1991 ) -- -- Marco van Basten 1 ( 1992 ) -- -- Fabio Cannavaro 1 ( 2006 ) -- -- Kaká 1 ( 2007 ) -- -- Wins by country Country Players Total Brazil 5 8 Italy Portugal France Germany Netherlands Liberia Argentina Wins by club Club Players Total Barcelona 5 6 Real Madrid Milan Juventus Internazionale Manchester United FIFA women 's world player of the year Year Rank Player Team 2001 1st Mia Hamm Washington Freedom 2nd Sun Wen Atlanta Beat 3rd Tiffeny Milbrett New York Power 2002 1st Mia Hamm Washington Freedom 2nd Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 3rd Sun Wen Atlanta Beat 2003 1st Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 2nd Mia Hamm Washington Freedom 3rd Hanna Ljungberg Umeå IK 1st Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 2nd Mia Hamm Washington Freedom 3rd Marta Umeå IK 2005 1st Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 2nd Marta Umeå IK 3rd Shannon Boxx Unattached 2006 1st Marta Umeå IK 2nd Kristine Lilly KIF Örebro DFF 3rd Renate Lingor 1. FFC Frankfurt 2007 1st Marta Umeå IK 2nd Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 3rd Cristiane VfL Wolfsburg 2008 1st Marta Umeå IK 2nd Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 3rd Cristiane Corinthians 2009 1st Marta Santos 2nd Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 3rd Kelly Smith Boston Breakers 1st Marta Santos 2nd Birgit Prinz 1. FFC Frankfurt 3rd Fatmire Bajramaj 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 2011 1st Homare Sawa INAC Kobe Leonessa 2nd Marta Western New York Flash 3rd Abby Wambach magicJack 2012 1st Abby Wambach Unattached 2nd Marta Tyresö FF 3rd Alex Morgan Seattle Sounders Women 2013 1st Nadine Angerer Brisbane Roar 2nd Abby Wambach Western New York Flash 3rd Marta Tyresö FF 2014 1st Nadine Keßler VfL Wolfsburg 2nd Marta FC Rosengård 3rd Abby Wambach Western New York Flash 2015 1st Carli Lloyd Houston Dash 2nd Célia Šašić 1. FFC Frankfurt 3rd Aya Miyama Okayama Yunogo Belle Source : In 2016, FIFA created The Best FIFA Women 's Player award instead. Wins by player Player 1st 2nd 3rd Marta 5 ( 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 ) 4 ( 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014 ) 2 ( 2004, 2013 ) Birgit Prinz 3 ( 2003, 2004, 2005 ) 5 ( 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 ) -- Mia Hamm 2 ( 2001, 2002 ) 2 ( 2003, 2004 ) -- Abby Wambach 1 ( 2012 ) 1 ( 2013 ) 2 ( 2011, 2014 ) Homare Sawa 1 ( 2011 ) -- -- Nadine Angerer 1 ( 2013 ) -- -- Nadine Keßler 1 ( 2014 ) -- -- Carli Lloyd 1 ( 2015 ) -- -- Wins by country Country Players Total Germany 5 Brazil 5 United States Japan Wins by club Club Players Total 1. FFC Frankfurt Umeå IK Washington Freedom Santos INAC Kobe Leonessa Brisbane Roar VfL Wolfsburg Houston Dash See also Women 's association football portal Ballon d'Or FIFA Ballon d'Or The Best FIFA Football Awards FIFPro World XI Notes Jump up ^ Weah was signed by Milan from Paris Saint - Germain midway through 1995. Jump up ^ Klinsmann was signed by Bayern Munich from Tottenham Hotspur midway through 1995. Jump up ^ Ronaldo was signed by Barcelona from PSV Eindhoven midway through 1996. Jump up ^ Shearer was signed by Newcastle United from Blackburn Rovers midway through 1996. Jump up ^ Figo was signed by Real Madrid from Barcelona midway through 2000. Jump up ^ Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Internazionale midway through 2002. Jump up ^ Cannavaro was signed by Real Madrid from Juventus midway through 2006. Jump up ^ Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Real Madrid from Manchester United midway through 2009. Jump up ^ Cristiane was signed by Corinthians from Linköpings F.C. midway through 2008. Jump up ^ Marta was signed by Santos from Los Angeles Sol midway through 2009. Jump up ^ Smith was signed by Boston Breakers from Arsenal Ladies midway through 2009. Jump up ^ Marta was signed by Western New York Flash from Santos midway through 2011. Jump up ^ Angerer was signed by Brisbane Roar from 1. FFC Frankfurt midway through 2013. Jump up ^ Marta was signed by FC Rosengård from Tyresö FF midway through 2014. References ^ Jump up to : `` FACTSheet FIFA awards '' ( PDF ). FIFA. Retrieved 19 January 2016. Jump up ^ `` FIFA Awards ''. RSSSF.com. Retrieved 1 April 2013 Jump up ^ `` Brazil legend Ronaldo retires from football ''. BBC. Retrieved 17 November 2013 Jump up ^ `` Cannavaro discusses highs and lows ''. Football Federation Australia. Retrieved 18 November 2013 Jump up ^ `` The FIFA Ballon d'Or is born ''. FIFA.com. Retrieved 12 January 2016 Jump up ^ `` FIFA Ballon d'Or World Player of the Year : Award History ''. FIFA.com. Retrieved 12 January 2016 Jump up ^ `` Messi, Lloyd, Luis Enrique and Ellis triumph at FIFA Ballon d'Or 2015 ''. FIFA. 11 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016. Jump up ^ FIFA.com - Thirty - five stars make Zurich shortlist FIFA Player of the Year FIFA World Player of the Year 1991 : Matthäus 1992 : Van Basten 1993 : Baggio 1994 : Romário 1995 : Weah 1996 : Ronaldo 1997 : Ronaldo 1998 : Zidane 1999 : Rivaldo 2000 : Zidane 2001 : Figo 2002 : Ronaldo 2003 : Zidane 2004 : Ronaldinho 2005 : Ronaldinho 2006 : Cannavaro 2007 : Kaká 2008 : C. Ronaldo 2009 : Messi FIFA Ballon d'Or 2010 : Messi 2011 : Messi 2012 : Messi 2013 : C. Ronaldo 2014 : C. Ronaldo 2015 : Messi The Best FIFA Men 's Player 2016 : C. Ronaldo 2017 : TBA See also : Ballon d'Or FIFA Women 's Player of the Year FIFA Women 's World Player of the Year 2001 : Hamm 2002 : Hamm 2003 : Prinz 2004 : Prinz 2005 : Prinz 2006 : Marta 2007 : Marta 2008 : Marta 2009 : Marta 2010 : Marta 2011 : Sawa 2012 : Wambach 2013 : Angerer 2014 : Keßler 2015 : Lloyd The Best FIFA Women 's Player 2016 : Lloyd 2017 : TBA FIFA History of FIFA FIFA Anthem FIFA Congress FIFA Council FIFA Ethics Committee FIFA headquarters Football at the Summer Olympics List of football federations International Football Association Board Timeline of association football Football codes Association football Beach soccer Futsal Confederations AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA Men 's tournaments FIFA World Cup FIFA Confederations Cup FIFA U-20 World Cup FIFA U-17 World Cup FIFA Club World Cup FIFA Futsal World Cup FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Blue Stars / FIFA Youth Cup Women 's tournaments FIFA Women 's World Cup FIFA U-20 Women 's World Cup FIFA U-17 Women 's World Cup FIFA Women 's Club World Cup Other tournaments FIFA Interactive World Cup Presidents Robert Guérin ( 1904 -- 1906 ) Daniel Burley Woolfall ( 1906 -- 1918 ) Jules Rimet ( 1921 -- 1954 ) Rodolphe Seeldrayers ( 1954 -- 1955 ) Arthur Drewry ( 1955 -- 1961 ) Stanley Rous ( 1961 -- 1974 ) João Havelange ( 1974 -- 1998 ) Sepp Blatter ( 1998 -- 2015 ) Issa Hayatou ( 2015 -- 2016, acting ) Gianni Infantino ( 2016 -- present ) General Secretaries Louis Muhlinghaus ( 1904 -- 1906 ) Wilhelm Hirschman ( 1906 -- 1931 ) Ivo Schricker ( 1932 -- 1951 ) Kurt Gassmann ( 1951 -- 1960 ) Helmut Käser ( 1961 -- 1981 ) Sepp Blatter ( 1981 -- 1998 ) Michel Zen - Ruffinen ( 1998 -- 2002 ) Urs Linsi ( 2002 -- 2007 ) Jérôme Valcke ( 2007 -- 2015 ) Markus Kattner ( 2015 -- 2016, acting ) Fatma Samoura ( 2016 -- present ) Awards FIFA 100 FIFA Ballon d'Or FIFA Club of the Century FIFA Development Award FIFA Fair Play Award FIFA Female Player of the Century FIFA FIFPro World XI FIFA Order of Merit FIFA Player of the Century FIFA Presidential Award FIFA Puskás Award FIFA Women 's World Cup awards FIFA World Coach of the Year FIFA World Cup All - Time Team FIFA World Cup Dream Team FIFA World Cup awards FIFA World Player of the Year The Best FIFA Football Awards Rankings FIFA World Rankings FIFA World Ranking system ( 1999 -- 2006 ) FIFA Women 's World Rankings Congresses 51st ( Paris 1998 ) 53rd ( Seoul 2002 ) 61st ( Zürich 2011 ) 65th ( Zürich 2015 ) Extraordinary ( Zürich 2016 ) Corruption `` FIFA 's Dirty Secrets '' Garcia Report 2015 FIFA corruption case List of banned football officials Others FIFA ( video game series ) List of FIFA country codes FIFA Disciplinary Code FIFA Fan Fest FIFA Futbol Mundial FIFA eligibility rules FIFA International Match Calendar FIFA International Referees List FIFA Master FIFA Transfer Matching System FIFA World Cup Trophy Non-FIFA United Passions International association football FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Cup U-17 U-20 Confederations Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade World Rankings The Best FIFA Football Awards Timeline of association football Comparison of association football and futsal Africa CAF -- Africa Cup of Nations U-23 U-20 U-17 Regional ( CECAFA, CEMAC, COSAFA, WAFU ) Asia AFC -- Asian Cup U-23 U-19 U-16 U-14 Regional ( ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF ) Europe UEFA -- European Championship U-21 U-19 U-17 North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF -- Gold Cup U-20 U-17 U-15 Regional ( CFU, UNCAF ) Oceania OFC -- Nations Cup U-20 U-17 South America CONMEBOL -- Copa América U-20 U-17 U-15 Non-FIFA NF - Board -- Viva World Cup CONIFA - ConIFA World Football Cup ConIFA European Football Cup IGA - Island Games Games African Games Asian Games Central America Central America and Caribbean East Asian Games Francophonie Games Indian Ocean Island Lusophony Games Mediterranean Games Pan American Games Pan Arab Games Pacific Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games See also Geography Codes Player / Club of the Century Women 's football International women 's association football FIFA Federations Teams Competitions World Rankings Player of the Year The Best FIFA Women 's Player Asia AFC Women 's Asian Cup U-19 U-16 Regional ( ASEAN, EAFF, SAFF, WAFF ) Africa CAF Women Cup of Nations U-20 U-17 Regional ( CECAFA, COSAFA ) North America, Central America and the Caribbean CONCACAF Women 's Gold Cup U-20 U-17 South America CONMEBOL Copa América Femenina U-20 U-17 Oceania OFC Women 's Nations Cup U-20 U-17 Europe UEFA Women 's Championship U-19 U-17 Non-FIFA NF - Board Women 's Viva World Cup Games African Games Asian Games Central America and Caribbean Central American Games Pan American Games Pacific Games Indian Ocean Island Games South Asian Games Southeast Asian Games Universiade Worldwide World Cup U-17 U-20 Albena Cup Algarve Cup Brazil Cup China Cup Cyprus Women 's Cup Istria Cup Peace Queen Cup SheBelieves Cup Olympics Youth Olympics Universiade Geography Codes Player of the Century Men 's football Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=FIFA_World_Player_of_the_Year&oldid=804706651 '' Categories : FIFA World Player of the Year FIFA awards Awards established in 1991 Awards established in 2001 Awards disestablished in 2009 Awards disestablished in 2015 Lists of women 's association football players Women 's association football player of the year awards Talk Contents About Wikipedia বাংলা Български Català Čeština Dansk Deutsch Eesti Ελληνικά Español Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Hrvatski Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Basa Jawa ქართული Қазақша Latviešu Lietuvių Magyar मैथिली Malti მარგალური Bahasa Melayu Монгол Nederlands नेपाली 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Scots Slovenčina کوردی Српски / srpski Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Suomi Svenska தமிழ் ไทย Türkçe Українська اردو Tiếng Việt 粵語 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 10 October 2017, at 17 : 04. 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Question: best soccer player in the world fifa ranking
Answer: FIFA World Player of the Year