# IFFHS World's Best Player

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).

## Men's winners
### List of winners

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.
| Year | Rank | Winner | Club(s) | Points |
| 1988 | 1st | Marco van Basten | Milan | 101 |
| 1988 | 2nd | Diego Maradona | Napoli | 92 |
| 1988 | 3rd | Ruud Gullit | Milan | 71 |
| 1989 | 1st | Marco van Basten | Milan | 132 |
| 1989 | 2nd | Franco Baresi | Milan | 62 |
| 1989 | 3rd | Ruud Gullit | Milan | 57 |
| 1990 | 1st | Lothar Matthäus | Inter Milan | – |
| 1990 | 2nd | Diego Maradona | Napoli | – |
| 1990 | 3rd | Salvatore Schillaci | Juventus | – |
| 2020 | 1st | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 95% |
| 2021 | 1st | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 150 |
| 2021 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona Paris Saint-Germain | 105 |
| 2021 | 3rd | Jorginho | Chelsea | 40 |
| 2022 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | 275 |
| 2022 | 2nd | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 35 |
| 2022 | 3rd | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 30 |
| 2023 | 1st | Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 208 |
| 2023 | 2nd | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 105 |
| 2023 | 3rd | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain Inter Miami | 85 |
| 2024 | 1st | Rodri | Manchester City | 191 |
| 2024 | 2nd | Vinícius Júnior | Real Madrid | 166 |
| 2024 | 3rd | Jude Bellingham | Real Madrid | 62 |

### Statistics

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

### Continental winners

    Bold indicates the World's Best Man Player winner.
| Year | Confederation | Winner | Club(s) |
| 2020 | UEFA | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich |
| 2020 | CONMEBOL | Lionel Messi | Barcelona |
| 2020 | CONCACAF | Alphonso Davies | Bayern Munich |
| 2020 | CAF | Sadio Mané | Liverpool |
| 2020 | AFC | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2020 | OFC | Chris Wood | Burnley |
| 2021 | UEFA | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich |
| 2021 | CONMEBOL | Lionel Messi | Barcelona Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2021 | CONCACAF | Alphonso Davies | Bayern Munich |
| 2021 | CAF | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool |
| 2021 | AFC | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2021 | OFC | Chris Wood | Burnley |
| 2022 | UEFA | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2022 | CONMEBOL | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain |
| 2022 | CONCACAF | Alphonso Davies | Bayern Munich |
| 2022 | CAF | Sadio Mané | Liverpool Bayern Munich |
| 2022 | AFC | Son Heung-min | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2022 | OFC | Chris Wood | Burnley Newcastle |

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

Top 10 players :
| 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 |

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

| Confederation | First | Second | Third |
| World | Lionel Messi | Cristiano Ronaldo | Andrés Iniesta |
| UEFA | Cristiano Ronaldo | Sergio Ramos | Manuel Neuer |
| CONMEBOL | Lionel Messi | Neymar | Dani Alves |
| CONCACAF | Keylor Navas | Javier Hernández | Clint Dempsey |
| CAF | Mohamed Salah | Sadio Mané | Riyad Mahrez |
| AFC | Son Heung-min | Keisuke Honda | Salem Al-Dawsari |
| OFC | Chris Wood | Winston Reid | Marco Rojas |

### The Best European Player (1956–1990)

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.
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 |

### Men Legends

Phase 1 (48 players) :
| 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) :
| 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 |

### The Men's Player of the Month

| Month | Year | Player | Club | Ref. |
| January | 2025.12025 | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | |
| February | 2025.22025 | Kylian Mbappé | Real Madrid | |

## Women's winners
### List of winners

| Year | Rank | Winner | Club(s) | Points |
| 2020 | 1st | Pernille Harder | VfL Wolfsburg Chelsea | – |
| 2020 | 2nd | Wendie Renard | Lyon | – |
| 2020 | 2nd | Lucy Bronze | Lyon Manchester City | – |
| 2021 | 1st | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona | 135 |
| 2021 | 2nd | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | 35 |
| 2021 | 3rd | Sam Mewis | Manchester City North Carolina Courage | 30 |
| 2022 | 1st | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona | 115 |
| 2022 | 2nd | Beth Mead | Arsenal | 55 |
| 2022 | 3rd | Wendie Renard | Lyon | 30 |
| 2023 | 1st | Aitana Bonmatí | Barcelona | 202 |
| 2023 | 2nd | Salma Paralluelo | Barcelona | 64 |
| 2023 | 3rd | Sam Kerr | Chelsea | 59 |
| 2024 | 1st | Aitana Bonmatí | Barcelona | 232 |
| 2024 | 2nd | Salma Paralluelo | Barcelona | 53 |
| 2024 | 3rd | Caroline Graham Hansen | Barcelona | 39 |

### Statistics

Winners (2020–present) :
| Player | Wins | Years |
| Alexia Putellas | 2 | 2021, 2022 |
| Aitana Bonmatí | 2 | 2023, 2024 |
| Pernille Harder | 1 | 2020 |
Wins by club :
| Club | Total | Players |
| Barcelona | 4 | 2 |
| Chelsea | 1 | 1 |
| VfL Wolfsburg | 1 | 1 |
Wins by nationality :
| Nationality | Total | Players |
| Spain | 4 | 2 |
| Denmark | 1 | 1 |

### Continental rankings

    Bold indicates the World's Best Woman Player winner.
| Year | Confederation | Winner | Club(s) |
| 2020 | UEFA | Pernille Harder | VfL Wolfsburg Chelsea |
| 2020 | CONMEBOL | Marta | Orlando Pride |
| 2020 | CONCACAF | Tobin Heath | Manchester United |
| 2020 | CAF | Asisat Oshoala | Barcelona |
| 2020 | AFC | Saki Kumagai | Lyon |
| 2020 | OFC | Rebekah Stott | Melbourne City |
| 2021 | UEFA | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona |
| 2021 | CONMEBOL | Marta | Orlando Pride |
| 2021 | CONCACAF | Sam Mewis | Manchester City North Carolina Courage |
| 2021 | CAF | Asisat Oshoala | Barcelona |
| 2021 | AFC | Sam Kerr | Chelsea |
| 2021 | OFC | Ria Percival | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 2022 | UEFA | Alexia Putellas | Barcelona |
| 2022 | CONMEBOL | Linda Caicedo | Deportivo Cali |
| 2022 | CONCACAF | Alex Morgan | San Diego Wave |
| 2022 | CAF | Ghizlane Chebbak | AS FAR |
| 2022 | AFC | Sam Kerr | Chelsea |
| 2022 | OFC | Claudia Bunge | Melbourne Victory Northern Tigers |

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

IFFHS gave out an award decided by votes which was conducted with the participation of journalists and former players (no further details given).
Top 10 players :
| 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 |

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

| Confederation | First | Second | Third |
| World | Marta | Carli Lloyd | Dzsenifer Marozsán |
| UEFA | Dzsenifer Marozsán | Ada Hegerberg | Wendie Renard |
| CONMEBOL | Marta | Cristiane | Formiga |
| CONCACAF | Carli Lloyd | Alex Morgan | Megan Rapinoe |
| CAF | Asisat Oshoala | Gabrielle Onguéné | Ngozi Okobi |
| AFC | Homare Sawa | Samantha Kerr | Saki Kumagai |
| OFC | Ria Percival | Abby Erceg | Rebekah Stott |

### Women Legends

Phase 1 (16 players) :
| 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) :
| 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 |