# Bulgarian Footballer of the Year

Bulgarian Footballer of the Year (Bulgarian: Футболист №1 на България, Futbolist №1 na Balgariya) is an annual title awarded to the best Bulgarian association football player of the year. The award has been given since 1961, and the winner is elected by authorized journalists from the leading Bulgarian media.

## History

2011 was the first year with a vote held online by fans. The poll has been organized by the Futbol newspaper (1961–1975), the Start newspaper (1975–1998), the Futbol newspaper and Start magazine (1999–present).
The footballers to have won the award the most times are Dimitar Berbatov (7 times - 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010), Hristo Stoichkov (5 times - 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994), Kiril Despodov (4 times - 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023), Hristo Bonev (1969, 1972, 1973) and Ivelin Popov (2015, 2016, 2017). The clubs with the most winners are Levski Sofia and CSKA Sofia with 11.

## List of Bulgarian Footballer of the Year
### Men

| Year | Footballer | Position | Club |
| 1961 | Georgi Naydenov | Goalkeeper | CSKA Sofia |
| 1962 | Ivan Kolev | Defender | CSKA Sofia |
| 1963 | Aleksandar Shalamanov | Defender | Slavia Sofia |
| 1964 | Nikola Kotkov | Forward | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| 1965 | Georgi Asparuhov | Forward | Levski Sofia |
| 1966 | Aleksandar Shalamanov | Defender | Slavia Sofia |
| 1967 | Dimitar Penev | Defender | CSKA Sofia |
| 1968 | Simeon Simeonov | Goalkeeper | Slavia Sofia |
| 1969 | Hristo Bonev | Forward | Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
| 1970 | Stefan Aladzhov | Defender | Levski Sofia |
| 1971 | Dimitar Penev | Defender | CSKA Sofia |
| 1972 | Hristo Bonev | Forward | Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
| 1973 | Hristo Bonev | Forward | Lokomotiv Plovdiv |
| 1974 | Kiril Ivkov | Defender | Levski Sofia |
| 1975 | Kiril Ivkov | Defender | Levski Sofia |
| 1976 | Bozhidar Grigorov | Forward | Slavia Sofia |
| 1977 | Pavel Panov | Midfielder / Forward | Levski Sofia |
| 1978 | Rumyancho Goranov | Goalkeeper | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| 1979 | Atanas Mihaylov | Forward | Lokomotiv Sofia |
| 1980 | Andrey Zhelyazkov | Forward | Slavia Sofia |
| 1981 | Georgi Velinov | Goalkeeper | CSKA Sofia |
| 1982 | Radoslav Zdravkov | Defender | CSKA Sofia |
| 1983 | Stoycho Mladenov | Midfielder / Forward | CSKA Sofia |
| 1984 | Plamen Nikolov | Defender | Levski Sofia |
| 1985 | Georgi Dimitrov | Defender | CSKA Sofia |
| 1986 | Borislav Mihaylov | Goalkeeper | Levski Sofia |
| 1987 | Nikolay Iliev | Defender | Levski Sofia |
| 1988 | Lyuboslav Penev | Forward | CSKA Sofia |
| 1989 | Hristo Stoichkov | Midfielder / Forward | CSKA Sofia |
| 1990 | Hristo Stoichkov | Midfielder / Forward | Barcelona |
| 1991 | Hristo Stoichkov | Midfielder / Forward | Barcelona |
| 1992 | Hristo Stoichkov | Midfielder / Forward | Barcelona |
| 1993 | Emil Kostadinov | Forward | Porto |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Midfielder / Forward | Barcelona |
| 1995 | Krasimir Balakov | Midfielder | Sporting CP / VfB Stuttgart |
| 1996 | Trifon Ivanov | Defender | Rapid Wien |
| 1997 | Krasimir Balakov | Midfielder | VfB Stuttgart |
| 1998 | Ivaylo Yordanov | Defender / Midfielder / Forward | Sporting CP |
| 1999 | Aleksandar Aleksandrov | Midfielder | Levski Sofia |
| 2000 | Georgi Ivanov | Forward | Levski Sofia |
| 2001 | Georgi Ivanov | Forward | Levski Sofia |
| 2002 | Dimitar Berbatov | Forward | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2003 | Stiliyan Petrov | Midfielder | Celtic |
| 2004 | Dimitar Berbatov | Forward | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2005 | Dimitar Berbatov | Forward | Bayer Leverkusen |
| 2006 | Martin Petrov 2nd Dimitar Berbatov 3rd Stiliyan Petrov | Midfielder / Forward Forward Midfielder | Atlético Madrid Tottenham Hotspur Aston Villa |
| 2007 | Dimitar Berbatov 2nd Martin Petrov 3rd Georgi Petkov | Forward Midfielder / Forward Goalkeeper | Tottenham Hotspur Manchester City Levski Sofia |
| 2008 | Dimitar Berbatov 2nd Georgi Petkov 3rd Blagoy Georgiev | Forward Goalkeeper Midfielder | Manchester United Levski Sofia Slavia Sofia |
| 2009 | Dimitar Berbatov 2nd Stiliyan Petrov 3rd Blagoy Georgiev | Forward Midfielder Midfielder | Manchester United Aston Villa Terek Grozny |
| 2010 | Dimitar Berbatov 2nd Ivelin Popov 3rd Nikolay Mihaylov | Forward Forward Goalkeeper | Manchester United Gaziantepspor Twente |
| 2011 | Nikolay Mihaylov 2nd Stiliyan Petrov 3rd Dimitar Berbatov | Goalkeeper Midfielder Forward | Twente Aston Villa Manchester United |
| 2012 | Georgi Milanov 2nd Ivan Ivanov 3rd Stanislav Manolev | Midfielder Defender Defender | Litex Lovech Partizan PSV |
| 2013 | Ivan Ivanov 2nd Ivelin Popov 3rd Svetoslav Dyakov | Defender Midfielder Midfielder | Basel / Partizan Kuban Krasnodar Ludogorets Razgrad |
| 2014 | Vladislav Stoyanov 2nd Svetoslav Dyakov 3rd Dimitar Berbatov | Goalkeeper Midfielder Forward | Ludogorets Razgrad Ludogorets Razgrad Monaco |
| 2015 | Ivelin Popov 2nd Ivaylo Chochev 3rd Georgi Milanov | Forward Midfielder Midfielder | Spartak Moscow Palermo CSKA Moscow |
| 2016 | Ivelin Popov 2nd Svetoslav Dyakov 3rd Vladislav Stoyanov | Forward Midfielder Goalkeeper | Spartak Moscow Ludogorets Razgrad Ludogorets Razgrad |
| 2017 | Ivelin Popov 2nd Martin Kamburov 3rd Todor Nedelev | Forward Forward Midfielder | Spartak Moscow Beroe Stara Zagora Botev Plovdiv |
| 2018 | Kiril Despodov 2nd Georgi Petkov 3rd Todor Nedelev | Forward Goalkeeper Midfielder | CSKA Sofia Slavia Sofia Botev Plovdiv |
| 2019 | Dimitar Iliev 2nd Anton Nedyalkov 3rd Vasil Bozhikov | Forward Defender Defender | Lokomotiv Plovdiv Ludogorets Razgrad Slovan Bratislava |
| 2020 | Dimitar Iliev 2nd Valentin Antov 3rd Anton Nedyalkov | Forward Defender Defender | Lokomotiv Plovdiv CSKA Sofia Ludogorets Razgrad |
| 2021 | Kiril Despodov 2nd Martin Kamburov 3rd Georgi Yomov | Forward Forward Midfielder | Ludogorets Razgrad Beroe Stara Zagora CSKA Sofia |
| 2022 | Kiril Despodov 2nd Ilia Gruev 3rd Ivaylo Chochev | Forward Midfielder Midfielder | Ludogorets Razgrad Werder Bremen CSKA 1948 |
| 2023 | Kiril Despodov 2nd Ilia Gruev 3rd Ivaylo Chochev | Forward Midfielder Midfielder | PAOK Leeds United Ludogorets Razgrad |

### Youth

| Year | Footballer | Position | Club |
| 2014 | Bozhidar Kraev | Midfielder | Levski Sofia |
| 2015 | Bozhidar Kraev | Midfielder | Levski Sofia |
| 2016 | Petko Hristov | Defender | Slavia Sofia |
| 2017 | Kiril Despodov | Forward | CSKA Sofia |
| 2018 | Valentin Antov | Defender | CSKA Sofia |
| 2019 | Stanislav Ivanov | Forward | Levski Sofia |
| 2020 | Dominik Yankov | Midfielder | Botev Vratsa / Ludogorets |
| 2021 | Svetoslav Vutsov | Goalkeeper | Slavia Sofia |
| 2022 | Nikola Iliev | Midfielder | Inter Milan |
| 2023 | Hristiyan Petrov | Defender | CSKA Sofia |

### Women

| Year | Footballer | Position | Club |
| 2015 | Silvia Radoyska | Midfielder | NSA Sofia |
| 2016 | Evdokiya Popadinova | Forward | Racers Ohio |
| 2017 | Evdokiya Popadinova | Forward | Racers Ohio |
| 2018 | Evdokiya Popadinova | Forward | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles |
| 2019 | Evdokiya Popadinova | Forward | Florida Gulf Coast Eagles |
| 2020 | Evdokiya Popadinova | Forward | Napoli Femminile |
| 2021 | Simona Petkova | Midfielder | FC Lugano |
| 2022 | Simona Petkova | Midfielder | YB Frauen |
| 2023 | Evdokiya Popadinova | Forward | Lazio Women 2015 |

## Statistics
### Multiple winners

| Winner | Number of wins | Winning years |
| Dimitar Berbatov | 7 | 2002, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 |
| Hristo Stoichkov | 5 | 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994 |
| Kiril Despodov | 5 | 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 |
| Hristo Bonev | 3 | 1969, 1972, 1973 |
| Ivelin Popov | 3 | 2015, 2016, 2017 |
| Krasimir Balakov | 2 | 1995, 1997 |
| Georgi Ivanov | 2 | 2000, 2001 |
| Kiril Ivkov | 2 | 1974, 1975 |
| Dimitar Penev | 2 | 1967, 1971 |
| Dimitar Iliev | 2 | 2019, 2020 |

### Winners by league

| Country | Winners | Clubs featured |
| Bulgaria | 39 | Levski (11), CSKA (11), Lokomotiv Plovdiv (5), Slavia Sofia (5), Lokomotiv Sofia (3), Ludogorets Razgrad (3), Litex Lovech (1) |
| Germany | 5 | Bayer Leverkusen (3), Stuttgart (2) |
| Spain | 5 | Barcelona (4), Atlético Madrid (1) |
| England | 4 | Manchester United (3), Tottenham Hotspur (1) |
| Portugal | 3 | Sporting (2), Porto (1) |
| Russia | 3 | Spartak Moscow (3) |
| Austria | 1 | Rapid Wien (1) |
| Greece | 2 | PAOK (2) |
| Netherlands | 1 | Twente (1) |
| Scotland | 1 | Celtic (1) |
| Serbia | 1 | Partizan (1) |
| Switzerland | 1 | Basel (1) |