UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award winners

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (Portuguese pronunciation: born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Serie A club Juventus and captains the Portugal national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 major trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, one UEFA European Championship, and one UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most goals (134) and assists (42) in the Champions League, most goals in the European Championship (14), and is tied with Ali Daei for most international goals (109). He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 780 official senior career goals for club and country.

Lionel Andrés Messi ( born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Often considered the best player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record six Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and in 2020 was named to the Ballon d'Or Dream Team. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 35 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles and four UEFA Champions Leagues. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), a La Liga and European league season (50), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (8), and most assists in La Liga (192), a La Liga season (21) and the Copa América (17). He has scored over 750 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals ever by a player for a single club.

David Robert Joseph Beckham OBE ( BEK-əm; born 2 May 1975) is an English former professional footballer, the current president and co-owner of Inter Miami and co-owner of Salford City. Known for his range of passing, crossing ability, and bending free-kicks as a right winger, Beckham has been hailed as one of the greatest and most recognisable midfielders of his generation, as well as one of the best set-piece specialists of all time. He is the first English player to win league titles in four countries: England, Spain, the United States and France.

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Brazilian Portuguese: born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká (Portuguese: ) or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Owing to his performances as a playmaker in his prime at A.C. Milan, a period marked by his creative passing, goal scoring and dribbles from midfield, Kaká is widely considered one of the best players of his generation. With success at club and international level, he is one of eight players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho Gaúcho (Brazilian Portuguese: ) or simply Ronaldinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer and ambassador for Barcelona. He played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a forward or a winger. Often considered one of the best players of his generation and regarded by many as one of the greatest of all time, Ronaldinho won two FIFA World Player of the Year awards and a Ballon d'Or. He was renowned for his technical skills and creativity; due to his agility, pace and dribbling ability, as well as his use of tricks, feints, overhead kicks, no-look passes and accuracy from free-kicks.

Steven George Gerrard MBE (born 30 May 1980) is an English professional football manager and former player who manages Scottish Premiership club Rangers. He spent the majority of his playing career as a central midfielder for Liverpool and the England national team, captaining both. Described by pundits and fellow professionals as one of the greatest players of his generation and one of Liverpool's greatest players, Gerrard was awarded the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award in 2005, and the Ballon d'Or Bronze Award. A versatile and well-rounded player, highly regarded for his leadership, Gerrard is the only footballer to score in an FA Cup Final, a League Cup Final, a UEFA Cup Final and a UEFA Champions League Final, winning on each occasion.

Robert Lewandowski ( born 21 August 1988) is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Bayern Munich and is the captain of the Poland national team. He is renowned for his positioning, technique and finishing, and is widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation.

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima (Brazilian Portuguese: born 18 September 1976), commonly known as Ronaldo or Ronaldo Nazário, is a Brazilian business owner and president of La Liga club Real Valladolid, owner of Brasileiro Série A club Cruzeiro, and a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed O Fenômeno ('The Phenomenon') and R9, he is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been an influence for a generation of strikers that have followed. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning two Ballon d'Or awards.

Zinedine Yazid Zidane (French: Zinédine Yazid Zidane; born 23 June 1972), popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most successful coaches in the world. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was a playmaker renowned for his elegance, vision, passing, ball control, and technique. He received many individual accolades as a player, including being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or.

Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon Ufficiale OMRI (born 28 January 1978) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and by some as the greatest ever. He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,000 professional career appearances.