# El País King of European Soccer

El País King of European Soccer (alternative: El País European Player of the Year) was an annual football award given by Uruguayan newspaper El País to the best footballer in Europe. It had been decided by several European sports experts, critics and journalists based on votes. Any player from a European team was eligible, regardless their country of origin. It was first awarded in 1991 with French Jean-Pierre Papin having been the inaugural winner. The last winner was Argentine Lionel Messi in 2012. Messi and Zinedine Zidane are the record winners of the award with four wins each.

## Winners

Source:
| Year | Rank | Player | Club | Points |
| 1991 | 1st | Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | — |
| 1992 | 1st | Marco van Basten | AC Milan | — |
| 1993 | 1st | Roberto Baggio | Juventus | — |
| 1994 | 1st | Paolo Maldini | AC Milan | — |
| 1995 | 1st | George Weah | AC Milan | — |
| 1996 | 1st | Ronaldo | Barcelona | — |
| 1997 | 1st | Ronaldo | Inter Milan | — |
| 1998 | 1st | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | — |
| 1999 | 1st | Rivaldo | Barcelona | 75 |
| 1999 | 2nd | David Beckham | Manchester United | 44 |
| 1999 | 3rd | Luís Figo | Barcelona | 23 |
| 2000 | 1st | Luís Figo | Real Madrid | 45 |
| 2000 | 2nd | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | 40 |
| 2000 | 3rd | Alessandro Nesta | Lazio | 30 |
| 2001 | 1st | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 41 |
| 2001 | 2nd | Michael Owen | Liverpool | 40 |
| 2001 | 3rd | Raúl | Real Madrid | 36 |
| 2002 | 1st | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 59 |
| 2002 | 2nd | Roberto Carlos | Real Madrid | 43 |
| 2002 | 3rd | Oliver Kahn | Bayern Munich | 34 |
| 2003 | 1st | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 45 |
| 2003 | 2nd | Pavel Nedvěd | Juventus | 38 |
| 2003 | 3rd | Roberto Carlos | Real Madrid | 31 |
| 2004 | 1st | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | — |
| 2004 | 2nd | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | — |
| 2004 | 3rd | Pavel Nedvěd | Juventus | — |
| 2005 | 1st | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | 59 |
| 2005 | 2nd | Frank Lampard | Chelsea | 33 |
| 2005 | 3rd | John Terry | Chelsea | 24 |
| 2006 | 1st | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | 54 |
| 2006 | 2nd | Fabio Cannavaro | Real Madrid | 43 |
| 2006 | 3rd | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 35 |
| 2007 | 1st | Kaká | AC Milan | — |
| 2007 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | — |
| 2007 | 3rd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | — |
| 2008 | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | 64 |
| 2008 | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 57 |
| 2008 | 3rd | Gianluigi Buffon | Juventus | — |
| 2009 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | — |
| 2010 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | — |
| 2011 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | — |
| 2012 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 108 |
| 2012 | 2nd | Andrés Iniesta | Barcelona | 93 |
| 2012 | 3rd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 9 |

### Most wins by player
#### Consecutive wins

* Lionel Messi is the only player in history to win the award in 4 consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012).
* Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho won the award in 3 successive years (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004, 2005, 2006, respectively).
* Brazilian Ronaldo won the award twice in a row (1996, 1997).

## European Coach of the Year

| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Points |
| 1991 | 1st | Michel Platini | France | — |
| 1992 | 1st | Johan Cruyff | Barcelona | — |
| 1993 | 1st | Johan Cruyff | Barcelona | — |
| 1994 | 1st | Johan Cruyff | Barcelona | — |
| 1995 | 1st | Louis van Gaal | Ajax | — |
| 1996 | 1st | Marcello Lippi | Juventus | — |
| 1997 | 1st | Marcello Lippi | Juventus | — |
| 1998 | 1st | Marcello Lippi | Juventus | — |
| 1999 | 1st | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | 35 |
| 1999 | 2nd | Louis van Gaal | Barcelona | 17 |
| 1999 | 3rd | Sven-Göran Eriksson | Lazio | 14 |
| 2000 | 1st | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | — |
| 2001 | 1st | Ottmar Hitzfeld | Bayern Munich | — |
| 2002 | 1st | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal | 30 |
| 2002 | 2nd | Vicente del Bosque | Real Madrid | 28 |
| 2002 | 3rd | Klaus Toppmöller | Bayer Leverkusen | 24 |
| 2003 | 1st | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | 25 |
| 2003 | 2nd | Fabio Capello | Roma | 24 |
| 2003 | 2nd | Marcello Lippi | Juventus | 24 |
| 2004 | 1st | José Mourinho | Porto Chelsea | — |
| 2004 | 2nd | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal | — |
| 2004 | 3rd | Fabio Capello | Roma Juventus | — |
| 2004 | 3rd | Otto Rehhagel | Greece | |
| 2005 | 1st | José Mourinho | Chelsea | 48 |
| 2005 | 2nd | Rafael Benítez | Liverpool | 32 |
| 2005 | 2nd | Fabio Capello | Juventus | 32 |
| 2006 | 1st | José Mourinho | Chelsea | 46 |
| 2006 | 2nd | Frank Rijkaard | Barcelona | 43 |
| 2007 | 1st | Arsène Wenger | Arsenal | — |
| 2007 | 2nd | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | — |
| 2008 | 1st | Alex Ferguson | Manchester United | — |
| 2012 | 1st | Vicente del Bosque | Spain | — |
| 2012 | 2nd | José Mourinho | Real Madrid | — |
| 2012 | 3rd | Pep Guardiola | Barcelona | — |