Lionel Messi (Argentina, Barcelona) - 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019

Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini is a footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time,^[6][7][8] Messi has a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards,^{[note 2]} four of which he won consecutively, and a record five European Golden Shoes. He has spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he has won 32 trophies, including nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles, and six Copas del Rey. Both a prolific goalscorer and a creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most official goals scored in La Liga (383), a La Liga season (50), a club football season in Europe (73), a calendar year (91), El Clásico (26), as well as those for most assists in La Liga (149) and the Copa América (11). He has scored over 600 senior career goals for club and country.

Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. At age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelona's youth academy, Messi made his competitive debut aged 17 in October 2004. Despite being injury-prone during his early career, he established himself as an integral player for the club within the next three years, finishing 2007 as a finalist for both the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award, a feat he repeated the following year. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 2008–09 season, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. At 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins.
Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons d'Or, including an unprecedented fourth. His best campaign statistically to date was the 2011–12 season, in which he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season, while establishing himself as Barcelona's all-time top scorer in official competitions in March 2012. The following two seasons, Messi finished twice second for the Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo, his perceived career rival. Messi regained his best form during the 2014–15 campaign, breaking the all-time goalscoring records in both La Liga and the Champions League in November 2014,^{[note 3]} and led Barcelona to a historic second treble.
An Argentine international, Messi is his country's all-time leading goalscorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, finishing the tournament with both the Golden Ball and Golden Shoe, and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. His style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona, who declared the teenager his successor. After making his senior debut in August 2005, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in a FIFA World Cup during the 2006 edition, and reached the final of the 2007 Copa América, where he was named young player of the tournament. As the squad's captain from August 2011, he led Argentina to three consecutive finals: the 2014 World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball, and the 2015 and 2016 Copas América. After announcing his international retirement in 2016, he reversed his decision and led his country to qualification for the 2018 World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal, Manchester United, Real Madrid) - 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Juventus and the Portuguese national team. Often considered the best player in the world and regarded by many as one of the greatest players of all time,^[4][5][6][7] Ronaldo has a record-tying five Ballon d'Or awards,^{[note 1]} the most for a European player, and is the first player to win four European Golden Shoes. He has won 26 trophies in his career, including five league titles, five UEFA Champions League titles and one UEFA European Championship. A prolific goalscorer, Ronaldo holds the records for most official goals scored in Europe's top-five leagues (395), the UEFA Champions League (120), the UEFA European Championship (9), as well as those for most assists in the UEFA Champions League (34) and the UEFA European Championship (6). He has scored over 670 senior career goals for club and country.
born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional
Born and raised on the Portuguese island of Madeira, Ronaldo was diagnosed with a racing heart at age 15. He underwent an operation to treat his condition, and began his senior club career playing for Sporting CP, before signing with Manchester United at age 18 in 2003. After winning his first trophy, the FA Cup, during his first season in England, he helped United win three successive Premier League titles, a UEFA Champions League title, and a FIFA Club World Cup. By age 22, he had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations and at age 23, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. In 2009, Ronaldo was the subject of the most expensive association football transfer^{[note 2]} when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in a transfer worth €94 million (£80 million).
In Madrid, Ronaldo won 15 trophies, including two La Liga titles, two Copas del Rey, four UEFA Champions League titles, two UEFA Super Cups, and three FIFA Club World Cups. Real Madrid's all-time top goalscorer, Ronaldo scored a record 34 La Liga hat-tricks, including a record-tying eight hat-tricks in the 2014–15 season^{[note 3]} and is the only player to reach 30 goals in six consecutive La Liga seasons. After joining Madrid, Ronaldo finished runner-up for the Ballon d'Or three times, behind Lionel Messi, his perceived career rival, before winning back-to-back Ballons d'Or in 2013 and 2014. After winning the 2016 and 2017 Champions Leagues, Ronaldo secured back-to-back Ballons d'Or again in 2016 and 2017. A historic third consecutive Champions League followed, making Ronaldo the first player to win the trophy five times.^[8] In 2018, he signed for Juventus in a transfer worth €100 million, the highest fee ever paid for a player over 30 years old, and the highest ever paid by an Italian club.
A Portuguese international, Ronaldo was named the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation in 2015. He made his senior debut for Portugal in 2003 at age 18, and has since had over 150 caps, including appearing and scoring in eight major tournaments, becoming Portugal's most capped player and his country's all-time top goalscorer. He scored his first international goal at Euro 2004 and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over full captaincy in July 2008, leading Portugal to their first-ever triumph in a major tournament by winning Euro 2016, and received the Silver Boot as the second-highest goalscorer of the tournament, before becoming the highest European international goalscorer of all-time.^[9] One of the most marketable athletes in the world, he was ranked the world's highest-paid athlete by Forbes in 2016 and 2017, as well as the world's most famous athlete by ESPN in 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Kaká (Brazil, Milan) - 2007

Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká or Ricardo Kaká,^[3][4][5][6] is a Brazilian retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Kaká made his professional club debut at age 18 at São Paulo FC in Brazil in 2001. After being named to the Bola de Ouro as the best player in the 2002 Campeonato Brasileiro, in 2003 he joined Italian club A.C. Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. At Milan, the club where he spent his prime years, Kaká won a Serie A title and was named the Serie A Footballer of the Year twice. In 2005, Milan finished runners up in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final to Liverpool F.C., with Kaká, the top assist provider of the tournament, named the UEFA Club Midfielder of the Year. Two years later he led Milan to win the 2007 UEFA Champions League Final and was the tournament's top goal scorer. Kaká's pace, creative passing, goal scoring and dribbles from midfield saw him win the FIFA World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or, the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year and the IFFHS World's Best Playmaker awards.
After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €67 million.^[7] At the time, this was the second highest transfer fee (in euros) ever, behind only the €77.5 million (150 billion lire) fee for Zinedine Zidane. However, in the same transfer window Real Madrid broke the world record by signing Cristiano Ronaldo. After four injury ravaged seasons in Spain, which saw his physical ability to dribble from midfield rapidly decline, he returned to Milan for a season in 2013, scoring his 100th goal for the club. At the end of the 2013–14 season, he joined MLS expansion club Orlando City, but initially returned to his former Brazilian club São Paulo FC on loan. In 2015, he scored on his MLS debut for Orlando City; he was later included in the roster for the 2015 MLS All-Star Game, where he was named Most Valuable Player.

Kaká made his debut for the Brazil national team in 2002, and was selected for their victorious World Cup squad that year, as well as the 2006 and 2010 tournaments, leading the tournament in assists in the latter. He was also a member of Brazil's 2005 and 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup-winning squads, winning the Golden Ball Award in the 2009 edition, as the tournament's best player. With success at club and international level, Kaká is one of eight players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.^[8]
Owing to his performances at A.C. Milan where he was an elite playmaker, Kaká is widely considered one of the best players of his generation.^{[9][10][11][12]} In addition to his individual awards he was named in both the FIFPro World XI and the UEFA Team of the Year three times. In 2010, he was named in the A.C. Milan Hall of Fame.^[13] One of the world's most famous athletes, Kaká was the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter.^[14][15] Off the field Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004 he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme.^[16] For his contributions on and off the pitch, Kaká was named in the Time 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2008 and 2009

Fabio Cannavaro (Italy, Real Madrid) - 2006

Fabio Cannavaro, Ufficiale OMRI (Italian pronunciation: [ˈfaːbjo kannaˈvaːro]; born 13 September 1973) is an Italian former professional footballer who is the manager of Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande.
Cannavaro is considered to be one of the greatest defenders of all time. He spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napoli before spending seven years at Parma, with whom he won two Coppa Italia titles, the 1999 Supercoppa Italiana, and the 1999 UEFA Cup. After spells at Internazionale and Juventus, he transferred (along with manager Fabio Capello) from Juventus to Real Madrid in 2006, with whom he won consecutive La Liga titles in 2007 and 2008. After returning to Juventus for one season in 2009–10, he joined Al-Ahli in Dubai, where he retired from football in 2011 after an injury-troubled season.
After his retirement, Cannavaro became a member of the coaching staff of Al-Ahli, notably as global ambassador and technical director from 2011 to 2013, and as an assistant coach from 2013 to 2014. In November 2014, he was appointed as head coach of Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande. On June 9, 2016, he signed a contract with second-tier Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian as manager. He returned to Guangzhou Evergrande in 2017.
Cannavaro has also achieved success with the Italy national team. He was part of the Italy team which won consecutive UEFA European Under-21 Championships in 1994 and 1996. After earning his first senior cap in 1997, he helped his national team to the final of UEFA Euro 2000, being named in the team of the tournament, and eventually became captain in 2002, following Paolo Maldini's retirement. Cannavaro led Italy to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, and was given the nickname "Il Muro di Berlino" ("The Berlin Wall") by the Italian supporters due to his defensive performances, which saw Italy keep five clean sheets and concede only two goals, neither of which were in open play. He was later awarded the Silver Ball after being named the tournament's second-best player.
In 2009, Cannavaro overtook Maldini as the most capped player in the country's history. He retired from international football on 25 June 2010 following Italy's failure to qualify for the knockout stages of the 2010 World Cup, having amassed 136 caps and 2 goals for the senior national team.^[4] In total, he has represented Italy at four World Cups, two UEFA European Championships, the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup. He is currently Italy's second all-time appearance holder, behind Gianluigi Buffon.
Cannavaro was named the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year, and won the Ballon d'Or award in 2006 which made him the only defender to win the award in a decade and only the third of all time after Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer, both of Germany.^[5][6] In 2007, he was in the six man shortlist for the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year.^[7] His younger brother Paolo was also a professional footballer, and currently serves as a member of Guangzhou Evergrande's coaching staff under the direction of his older brother Fabio.

Ronaldinho (Brazil, Barcelona) - 2005

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho (Brazilian Portuguese: [ʁonawˈdʒĩɲu]) or Ronaldinho Gaúcho,^{[note 1]} is a Brazilian former professional footballer and ambassador for Spanish club Barcelona.^[4] He played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a forward or a winger. He played the bulk of his career at European clubs Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and Milan as well as playing for the Brazilian national team. Often considered one of the best players of his generation and regarded by many as one of the greatest of all time,^{[note 2]} 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, overhead kicks, no-look passes and accuracy from free-kicks.
Ronaldinho made his senior debut for Grêmio, in 1998. At age 20, he moved to Paris Saint-Germain in France before signing for Barcelona in 2003. In his second season with Barcelona, he won his first FIFA World Player of the Year award, as Barcelona won La Liga. The season that followed is considered one of the best in his career as he was instrumental in Barcelona winning the UEFA Champions League, their first in fourteen years, as well as another La Liga title, giving Ronaldinho his first career double. After scoring two spectacular solo goals in El Clásico, Ronaldinho became the second Barcelona player, after Diego Maradona in 1983, to receive a standing ovation from Real Madrid fans at the Santiago Bernabéu. Ronaldinho also received his second FIFA World Player of the Year award, as well as the Ballon d'Or.

Following a second-place La Liga finish to rivals Real Madrid in the 2006–07 season and an injury plagued 2007–08 season, Ronaldinho departed Barcelona to join Milan. He then returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo in 2011 and Atlético Mineiro a year later, before moving to Mexico to play for Querétaro and then back to Brazil to play for Fluminense in 2015. Throughout his playing career, Ronaldinho accumulated numerous other individual honours. He was named in the UEFA Team of the Year and the FIFA World XI three times, honoured as the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year in 2006 and was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé.
At international level, Ronaldinho played 97 matches for the Brazil national team, scoring 33 goals and representing his country in two FIFA World Cups. He was an integral part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup-winning team in Korea and Japan, starring alongside Ronaldo and Rivaldo in an attacking trio, scoring two goals, including a free-kick from 40 yards out against England, registering two assists and being named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. As captain, he led Brazil to their second Confederations Cup title in 2005 and was named Man of the Match in the final.^[5] Ronaldinho scored three goals in the tournament, taking his total to nine, making him the competition's joint all-time leading goalscorer.

Andriy Shevchenko (Ukraine, Milan) - 2004

Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko (born 29 September 1976) is a politician, football manager and retired Ukrainian footballer who played for Dynamo Kyiv, Milan, Chelsea and the Ukraine national team as a striker. From February to July 2016, he was an assistant coach of the Ukraine national team, at the time led by Mykhailo Fomenko. On 15 July 2016, shortly after the nation's elimination from UEFA Euro 2016, Shevchenko was appointed Ukraine's head coach.
Shevchenko is ranked as the fifth top goalscorer in all European competitions with 67 goals. With a tally of 175 goals scored for Milan, Shevchenko is the second most prolific player in the history of the club, and is also the all-time top scorer of the Derby della Madonnina (the derby between Milan and their local rivals Internazionale) with 14 goals. Furthermore, he is the all-time top scorer for the Ukrainian national team with 48 goals.
Shevchenko's career has been highlighted by many awards, the most prestigious of which was the Ballon d'Or in 2004 (becoming the third Ukrainian, after Oleh Blokhin and Igor Belanov, to receive it). He won the UEFA Champions League in 2003 with Milan, and he has also won various league and cup titles in Ukraine, Italy and England. He was also an UEFA Champions League runner-up in 2005 and 2008.
In his illustrious international career, the striker led Ukraine as captain to the quarter-finals in their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance in 2006, and also took part at UEFA Euro 2012.
On 28 July 2012, Shevchenko announced that he was quitting football for politics.^[6] He was standing for election to the Ukrainian Parliament in the October 2012 Ukrainian parliamentary election,^[7] but his party failed to win parliamentary representation.

Pavel Nedvěd (Czech Republic, Juventus) - 2003

Pavel Nedvěd (born 30 August 1972) is a Czech retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Described as one of the best footballers of his generation, he is also regarded as one of the most successful players to emerge from the Czech Republic,^[1] winning domestic and European accolades with Italian clubs Lazio, including the last Cup Winners' Cup, and Juventus, whom he led to the 2003 UEFA Champions League Final.
Nedvěd was a key member of the Czech team which reached the final of Euro 1996, during which he attracted international attention. He also captained the national team at UEFA Euro 2004, where they were defeated in the semi-final by eventual champions Greece, and Nedvěd was named as part of the Team of the Tournament. Furthermore, Nedvěd helped his team qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. Due to his performances, as well as his quick and energetic runs during matches, Nedvěd was nicknamed "Furia Ceca" ("Czech Fury") by Italian fans and "The Czech cannon" in English-language media. His nickname in Czech is Méďa^[2] ("Little Bear"), stemming from the similarity between his surname and the Czech word for bear, Medvěd.
Winning the Ballon d'Or as European Footballer of the Year in 2003, Nedvěd was the second Czech player to receive the honour and the first since the breakup of Czechoslovakia. During his career Nedvěd received a number of other individual awards, including the second Golden Foot award in 2004, Czech Footballer of the Year (four times) and the Golden Ball (six times). He was also named by Pelé as one of the FIFA 100, and was placed in the UEFA Team of the Year in 2003, 2004, and 2005. He retired following the 2008–09 season, after a 19-year professional career. Nedvěd played 501 league matches at club level (scoring 110 goals), and was capped 91 times for the Czech Republic (scoring 18 times).
After five seasons with Lazio, Nedvěd was speculatively linked to several clubs (including Manchester United and Chelsea)^[32][33] before moving to Juventus in July 2001 for 75 billion lire (€38.7 million by fixed exchange rate).^[34][35][36] At Juventus, he replaced Zinedine Zidane, who had transferred to Real Madrid that summer.^[37] Nedvěd was a regular on Juventus' 2001–02 and 2002–03 Scudetto-winning teams.^[38] Although he was a substantial part of the club's championship season in 2003, he was also the subject of controversy. Nedvěd quit the Italian Footballers' Association in protest of the union's limit on non-European Union (EU) players;^[39] his native Czech Republic did not become an EU member until 2004.^[40] Although he was instrumental in leading Juventus to the 2003 UEFA Champions League final against Milan,^[41] he had to sit out the final due to an accumulation of yellow cards after his semi-final booking for a foul on Real Madrid midfielder Steve McManaman.^[42]
In December 2003, Nedvěd was named World Footballer of the Year by World Soccer magazine.^[43] Later that month, he won the European Footballer of the Year award over Thierry Henry and Paolo Maldini, the second Czech to win the award after Josef Masopust in 1962.^[44] Nedvěd received further recognition in his home country when he won the 2004 Golden Ball, awarded by Czech sportswriters, for the fifth time in seven years.^[45]
The 2004–05 season was frustrating for the midfielder, who was sidelined for two months by knee and head injuries^[46] and first considered retirement in April 2005.^[46] Although Juventus won Serie A titles that year and in 2006, the titles were revoked after the Calciopoli match fixing scandal. After the 2005–06 season, which ended with Juventus' relegation from Serie A despite its first-place finish,^[47] many stars (such as Fabio Cannavaro and Lilian Thuram) left the club and the remaining players' future was uncertain.^[48] After the 2006 World Cup, Nedvěd dispelled rumours about his departure by reiterating his desire to help Juventus regain promotion to Serie A, citing his family and his commitment to the club as reasons for his decision.^[41] He received a five-match ban after a red card against Genoa in December 2006,^[49] and repeated his threat to retire.^[50] However, he remained with the club until the end of the season and scored 11 league goals in the 2006–07 Serie B.^[38]

For the 2007–08 season, Juventus again played in Serie A. Nedvěd played frequently for the Bianconeri, contributing as the team's first-choice left winger and scoring two goals that season. He was again controversial: in November 2007, his tackle of Internazionale midfielder Luís Figo broke Figo's fibula.^[51] In April 2008, Nedvěd was hospitalised overnight for a concussion sustained in a collision with Roberto Guana during a match against Palermo.^[52]
Nedvěd scored Juventus' first league goal of the 2008–09 season in a 1–1 away draw with Fiorentina,^[53] and scored twice against Bologna in a 2–1 away win in October.^[53] On 26 February 2009, Nedvěd announced he would retire at the end of 2008–09 season^[54][55] to spend more time with his family.^[56] On 10 March 2009, he was substituted due to injury after 12 minutes of the Champions League round of 16 second leg match against Chelsea.^[57] Due to his impending retirement and his club's 3–2 loss on aggregate, it was his last European match for Juventus. Nedvěd retired at the end of the season, captaining the final match against former team Lazio and setting up Vincenzo Iaquinta's goal for a 2–0 victory.