# European Sports Media

The European Sports Media (ESM), formerly European Sports Magazines, is an association of football-related publications in Europe.

## Members

European Sports Media was established in 1989 as an international body for football journalism. Its nine founding members were: A Bola (Portuguese), Don Balón (Spanish), Sport/Foot Magazine (Belgium), La Gazzetta dello Sport (Italian), kicker (German), Onze Mondial (French), Sport (Switzerland), Voetbal International (Dutch), World Soccer (English). ESM membership has varied over time. Former members also include France Football.

### Current members

* A Bola
* Fanatik
* Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
* La Gazzetta dello Sport
* kicker
* Marca
* nemzeti sport
* So Foot
* Sport Express
* Sport Magazine
* telesport
* Tipsbladet
* Voetbal International
* World Soccer

## Awards

ESM presents the following awards:
* European Golden Shoe. Since the 1996–97 season, ESM annually rewards Europe's most prolific striker with the European Golden Shoe.
* UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award & UEFA Women's Player of the Year Award. Since 2011, in partnership with UEFA, ESM handles the voting and administration for the UEFA Best Men's Player and Women's Player in Europe Awards, which is awarded annually to the outstanding men's and women's players of the European season.
* UEFA Men's Coach of the Year Award & UEFA Women's Coach of the Year Award. Since 2020, in partnership with UEFA, ESM handles the voting and administration for the UEFA Best Men's Coach and Women's Coach in Europe Awards, which is awarded annually to the outstanding men's and women's coaches of the European season.
* ESM Team of the Season. After selecting a Team of the Season for 1994–95, ESM instituted the monthly ESM 11. Each of its members selects the 11 best players in the European leagues each month from September to May. The players who most often appear in those teams are elected into the ESM Team of the Season.

## ESM Team of the Season
### 1990s

| Season | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| 1994–95 | Vítor Baía | Paolo Maldini Matthias Sammer Frank Rijkaard Danny Blind | Gianfranco Zola Jari Litmanen Michael Laudrup | Iván Zamorano Alan Shearer Jürgen Klinsmann |
| 1995–96 | Edwin van der Sar | Paolo Maldini Frank de Boer Laurent Blanc Danny Blind | Alessandro Del Piero Raí Jari Litmanen Mehmet Scholl | George Weah Eric Cantona |
| 1996–97 | Angelo Peruzzi | Roberto Carlos Fernando Hierro Ciro Ferrara Jocelyn Angloma | Raúl Alessandro Del Piero Clarence Seedorf Luis Enrique | Ronaldo Davor Šuker |
| 1997–98 | Angelo Peruzzi | Roberto Carlos Fernando Hierro Laurent Blanc Gary Neville | Alessandro Del Piero Zinedine Zidane Fernando Redondo Luís Figo | Ronaldo Christian Vieri |
| 1998–99 | Carlos Roa | Bixente Lizarazu Jaap Stam Laurent Blanc Lilian Thuram | Rivaldo Siniša Mihajlović Stefan Effenberg David Beckham | Raúl Gabriel Batistuta |
| 1999–2000 | Oliver Kahn | Roberto Carlos Paolo Maldini Siniša Mihajlović Jocelyn Angloma | Rivaldo Juan Sebastián Verón Roy Keane Luís Figo | Raúl Andriy Shevchenko |

### 2000s

| Season | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| 2000–01 | Oliver Kahn | Roberto Carlos Sami Hyypiä Alessandro Nesta Jocelyn Angloma | Pavel Nedvěd Francesco Totti Mehmet Scholl Gaizka Mendieta | Michael Owen Hernán Crespo |
| 2001–02 | Francesco Toldo | Roberto Carlos Walter Samuel Lúcio Carles Puyol | Freddie Ljungberg Zinedine Zidane Michael Ballack Rubén Baraja | Ruud van Nistelrooy Christian Vieri |
| 2002–03 | Gianluigi Buffon | Paolo Maldini Daniel Van Buyten Carles Puyol Lilian Thuram | Roberto Carlos Pavel Nedvěd Zinedine Zidane | Christian Vieri Mateja Kežman Roy Makaay |
| 2003–04 | Timo Hildebrand | Roberto Carlos Walter Samuel Roberto Ayala Paulo Ferreira | Ronaldinho Francesco Totti Zinedine Zidane Ludovic Giuly | Andriy Shevchenko Thierry Henry |
| 2004–05 | Petr Čech | Fabio Cannavaro John Terry Carles Puyol | Frank Lampard Mark van Bommel Deco Ronaldinho | Arjen Robben Samuel Eto'o Andriy Shevchenko |
| 2005–06 | Petr Čech | Carles Puyol Lúcio Cris | Ronaldinho Frank Lampard Esteban Cambiasso Juninho | Lionel Messi Samuel Eto'o Luca Toni |
| 2006–07 | Grégory Coupet | Marco Materazzi Nemanja Vidić Dani Alves | Dejan Stanković Francesco Totti Juninho Cristiano Ronaldo | Zlatan Ibrahimović Didier Drogba Frédéric Kanouté |
| 2007–08 | Iker Casillas | Sergio Ramos Christian Panucci Rio Ferdinand William Gallas | Cristiano Ronaldo Cesc Fàbregas Franck Ribéry | Lionel Messi Zlatan Ibrahimović Fernando Torres |
| 2008–09 | Edwin van der Sar | Dani Alves John Terry Maicon Nemanja Vidić | Lionel Messi Xavi Steven Gerrard | Vedad Ibišević Samuel Eto'o Grafite |
| 2009–10 | Júlio César | John Terry Maicon Lúcio | Dani Alves Cesc Fàbregas Frank Lampard Wesley Sneijder | Lionel Messi Arjen Robben Wayne Rooney |

### 2010s

| Season | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| 2010–11 | Víctor Valdés | Dani Alves Mats Hummels Nemanja Vidić Gerard Piqué | Xavi Andrés Iniesta Nuri Şahin | Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Samuel Eto'o |
| 2011–12 | Manuel Neuer | Vincent Kompany Dani Alves Sergio Ramos Mats Hummels | Xavi Shinji Kagawa Andrea Pirlo | Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Robin van Persie |
| 2012–13 | Manuel Neuer | Philipp Lahm Dante Giorgio Chiellini | Bastian Schweinsteiger Thomas Müller İlkay Gündoğan | Gareth Bale Lionel Messi Zlatan Ibrahimović Cristiano Ronaldo |
| 2013–14 | Thibaut Courtois | Gerard Piqué Pepe Medhi Benatia David Alaba | Philipp Lahm Yaya Touré Arturo Vidal | Cristiano Ronaldo Luis Suárez Zlatan Ibrahimović |
| 2014–15 | Manuel Neuer | Branislav Ivanović Sergio Ramos Giorgio Chiellini Gerard Piqué | Arjen Robben Eden Hazard Cesc Fàbregas | Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Luis Suárez |
| 2015–16 | Keylor Navas | Marcelo Diego Godín Gerard Piqué Filipe Luís | Paul Pogba Ángel Di María N'Golo Kanté | Luis Suárez Gonzalo Higuaín Lionel Messi |
| 2016–17 | Gianluigi Buffon | Marcelo Sergio Ramos David Luiz Leonardo Bonucci | N'Golo Kanté Thiago Paulo Dybala | Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi Edinson Cavani |
| 2017–18 | Marc-André ter Stegen | Jordi Alba Samuel Umtiti Nicolás Otamendi Giorgio Chiellini | David Silva Andrés Iniesta Kevin De Bruyne | Neymar Mohamed Salah Lionel Messi |
| 2018–19 | Marc-André ter Stegen | Jordi Alba Gerard Piqué Virgil Van Dijk Joshua Kimmich | Marco Reus Paul Pogba Eden Hazard | Cristiano Ronaldo Sadio Mané Lionel Messi |
| 2019–20 | Marc-André ter Stegen | Andy Robertson Dayot Upamecano Virgil Van Dijk Trent Alexander-Arnold | Ángel Di María Jordan Henderson Kevin De Bruyne | Erling Haaland Robert Lewandowski Lionel Messi |

### 2020s

| Season | Goalkeeper | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
| 2020–21 | Jan Oblak | Achraf Hakimi Rúben Dias John Stones João Cancelo | Kevin De Bruyne İlkay Gündoğan Bruno Fernandes | Lionel Messi Robert Lewandowski Karim Benzema |
| 2021–22 | Thibaut Courtois | João Cancelo Antonio Rüdiger Virgil van Dijk Trent Alexander-Arnold | Bernardo Silva Luka Modrić Kevin De Bruyne | Karim Benzema Robert Lewandowski Mohamed Salah |
| 2022–23 | Marc-André ter Stegen | Théo Hernandez Kim Min-jae Éder Militão Giovanni Di Lorenzo | Kevin De Bruyne Martin Ødegaard | Kylian Mbappé Erling Haaland Victor Osimhen Lionel Messi |
| 2023–24 | Yann Sommer | Álex Grimaldo Virgil van Dijk Antonio Rüdiger Dani Carvajal | Vinícius Júnior Jude Bellingham Florian Wirtz | Harry Kane Kylian Mbappé Lautaro Martínez |

### By player

| Wins | Player | First | Last |
| 15 | Lionel Messi | 2005–06 | 2022–23 |
| 9 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 2006–07 | 2018–19 |
| 7 | Roberto Carlos | 1996–97 | 2003–04 |
| 5 | Dani Alves | 2006–07 | 2011–12 |
| 5 | Gerard Piqué | 2010–11 | 2018–19 |
| 5 | Kevin De Bruyne | 2017–18 | 2022–23 |
| 4 | Paolo Maldini | 1994–95 | 2002–03 |
| 4 | Zinedine Zidane | 1997–98 | 2003–04 |
| 4 | Carles Puyol | 2001–02 | 2005–06 |
| 4 | Samuel Eto'o | 2004–05 | 2010–11 |
| 4 | Zlatan Ibrahimović | 2006–07 | 2013–14 |
| 4 | Sergio Ramos | 2007–08 | 2016–17 |
| 4 | Marc-André ter Stegen | 2017–18 | 2022–23 |
| 4 | Virgil van Dijk | 2018–19 | 2023–24 |
| 3 | Alessandro Del Piero | 1995–96 | 1997–98 |
| 3 | Laurent Blanc | 1995–96 | 1998–99 |
| 3 | Raúl | 1996–97 | 1999–00 |
| 3 | Jocelyn Angloma | 1996–97 | 2000–01 |
| 3 | Christian Vieri | 1997–98 | 2002–03 |
| 3 | Andriy Shevchenko | 1999–00 | 2004–05 |
| 3 | Francesco Totti | 2000–01 | 2006–07 |
| 3 | Lúcio | 2001–02 | 2009–10 |
| 3 | Ronaldinho | 2003–04 | 2005–06 |
| 3 | Frank Lampard | 2004–05 | 2009–10 |
| 3 | John Terry | 2004–05 | 2009–10 |
| 3 | Arjen Robben | 2004–05 | 2014–15 |
| 3 | Nemanja Vidić | 2006–07 | 2010–11 |
| 3 | Cesc Fàbregas | 2007–08 | 2014–15 |
| 3 | Xavi | 2008–09 | 2011–12 |
| 3 | Manuel Neuer | 2011–12 | 2014–15 |
| 3 | Giorgio Chiellini | 2012–13 | 2017–18 |
| 3 | Luis Suárez | 2013–14 | 2015–16 |
| 3 | Robert Lewandowski | 2019–20 | 2021–22 |