# 2003 Ballon d'Or

The 2003 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to the Czech midfielder Pavel Nedvěd on 22 December 2003. On 11 November 2003, the shortlist of 50 male players compiled by a group of experts from France Football was announced. There were 52 voters, from Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Scotland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Wales and Yugoslavia. Each picked a first (5pts), second (4pts), third (3pts), fourth (2pts) and fifth choice (1pt).
Nedvěd was the second Czech player to win the award after Josef Masopust (1962). Gianluigi Buffon (Italy) was the top ranked goalkeeper in the list, in ninth place. Paolo Maldini (Italy) was the best ranked defender in third place, while Thierry Henry (France) was the top forward, in second place.

## Rankings
### Voted players

| Rank | Player | Nationality | Club(s) | Total | Votes by place | Votes by place | Votes by place | Votes by place | Votes by place | Votes |
| Rank | Player | Nationality | Club(s) | Total | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | Votes |
| 1st | Pavel Nedvěd | Czech Republic | Juventus | 190 | 27 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 45 |
| 2nd | Thierry Henry | France | Arsenal | 128 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 37 |
| 3rd | Paolo Maldini | Italy | Milan | 123 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 7 | 38 |
| 4th | Andriy Shevchenko | Ukraine | Milan | 67 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 21 |
| 5th | Zinedine Zidane | France | Real Madrid | 64 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 26 |
| 6th | Ruud van Nistelrooy | Netherlands | Manchester United | 61 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 24 |
| 7th | Raúl | Spain | Real Madrid | 32 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 13 |
| 8th | Roberto Carlos | Brazil | Real Madrid | 27 | 1 | 3 | 3 | - | 1 | 8 |
| 9th | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | Juventus | 19 | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 10th | David Beckham | England | Manchester United Real Madrid | 17 | - | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 11th | Ronaldo | Brazil | Real Madrid | 11 | - | - | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 12th | Henrik Larsson | Sweden | Celtic | 6 | - | - | 2 | - | - | 2 |
| 13th | Alessandro Del Piero | Italy | Juventus | 4 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| 13th | Dida | Brazil | Milan | 4 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| 13th | Roy Makaay | Netherlands | Deportivo La Coruña Bayern Munich | 4 | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 2 |
| 13th | Alessandro Nesta | Italy | Milan | 4 | - | - | - | 2 | - | 2 |
| 13th | Deco | Portugal | Porto | 4 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 |
| 18th | Nihat Kahveci | Turkey | Real Sociedad | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 18th | Francesco Totti | Italy | Roma | 3 | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 20th | Michael Ballack | Germany | Bayern Munich | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| 20th | Zlatan Ibrahimović | Sweden | Ajax | 2 | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| 22nd | Filippo Inzaghi | Italy | Milan | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 22nd | Jan Koller | Czech Republic | Borussia Dortmund | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 22nd | Adrian Mutu | Romania | Parma Chelsea | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 22nd | Ronaldinho | Brazil | Paris Saint-Germain Barcelona | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |
| 22nd | Francesco Toldo | Italy | Internazionale | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 |

### Non-voted players

The following 24 men were originally in contention for the 2003 Ballon d’Or, but did not receive any votes:
| Player | Nationality | Club(s) |
| Pablo Aimar | Argentina | Valencia |
| Sol Campbell | England | Arsenal |
| Iker Casillas | Spain | Real Madrid |
| Cristian Chivu | Romania | Ajax Roma |
| Samuel Eto'o | Cameroon | Mallorca |
| Luís Figo | Portugal | Real Madrid |
| Giovane Élber | Brazil | Bayern Munich Lyon |
| Ludovic Giuly | France | Monaco |
| Oliver Kahn | Germany | Bayern Munich |
| Patrick Kluivert | Netherlands | Barcelona |
| Darko Kovačević | Serbia and Montenegro | Real Sociedad |
| Claude Makélélé | France | Real Madrid Chelsea |
| Michael Owen | England | Liverpool |
| Pauleta | Portugal | Bordeaux Paris Saint-Germain |
| Robert Pires | France | Arsenal |
| Míchel Salgado | Spain | Real Madrid |
| Paul Scholes | England | Manchester United |
| Lilian Thuram | France | Juventus |
| Hatem Trabelsi | Tunisia | Ajax |
| David Trezeguet | France | Juventus |
| Patrick Vieira | France | Arsenal |
| Christian Vieri | Italy | Internazionale |
| Sylvain Wiltord | France | Arsenal |
| Gianluca Zambrotta | Italy | Juventus |