How UEFA's premier football award rose from the ashes of the Ballon d'Or
In short: When the original Ballon d'Or merged with FIFA's top prize in 2010, a vacuum was left in European football. UEFA responded by creating a new benchmark for excellence, designed to honor the absolute best talent playing on the continent during a single season.
Established in 2011 through a partnership with the European Sports Media (ESM) group, the UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award was intended to revive the prestige of the old European Footballer of the Year Award. It replaced the previous UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award and focuses on players competing for clubs within a UEFA member association. To win, a player must demonstrate dominance across both club and national team competitions throughout the preceding season.
The selection process has evolved significantly since its inception. Initially, the award relied solely on the votes of 53 sports journalists, with each journalist providing a ranked list of three players. This system used a weighted point structure: five points for first place, three for second, and one for third. However, the jury has grown increasingly inclusive. In 2017, UEFA expanded the voting pool by adding 80 coaches from the Champions League and Europa League group stages, alongside an increase in journalists to 55.
The landscape of football honors is shifting once again. Following a new partnership with Groupe Amaury starting in 2024, UEFA will co-organize the Ballon d'Or. This strategic move means that UEFA's specific awards for best player and best coach will be discontinued. Instead, UEFA will focus on presenting the President's Award and recognizing the top performers within its own specific competitions. Currently, Cristiano Ronaldo remains the most successful recipient, holding a record three awards and standing as the only player to win the title twice in a row.
The criteria for the award remain rigorous, judging performance across all domestic and international levels. While the voting mechanism has transitioned from a purely journalistic jury to one that includes various levels of professional coaching—including UEFA National Team Coaches in 2020/21 and Conference League group stage coaches in 2022/23—the goal remains the same: identifying the definitive player of the European season.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award
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