FIFA Player of the Century

one-off award by FIFA

FIFA Player of the Century was an award created by FIFA. It was only given once. The award was given to the best football player of the 20th century.[1] The award was given to Diego Maradona and Pelé.[2][3]

Diego Maradona (left) and Pelé (right) were both named FIFA Player of the Century

Internet vote change

Player Nationality Percentage
1 Diego Maradona   Argentina 53.60%
2 Pelé   Brazil 18.53%
3 Eusébio   Portugal 6.21%
4 Roberto Baggio   Italy 5.42%
5 Romário   Brazil 1.69%
6 Marco van Basten   Netherlands 1.57%
7 Ronaldo   Brazil 1.55%
8 Franz Beckenbauer   Germany 1.50%
9 Zinedine Zidane   France 1.34%
10 Rivaldo   Brazil 1.19%
11 Zico   Brazil 1.15%
12 Garrincha   Brazil 1.08%
13 Johan Cruyff   Netherlands 0.87%
14 Alfredo Di Stéfano   Argentina 0.68%
15 Michel Platini   France 0.58%
16 Bobby Charlton   England 0.39%
17 Ferenc Puskás   Hungary 0.37%
18 Lothar Matthäus   Germany 0.37%
19 Lev Yashin   Soviet Union 0.36%
20 George Best   Northern Ireland 0.32%

Magazine and grand jury vote change

Player Nationality Percentage
1 Pelé   Brazil 72.75%
2 Alfredo Di Stéfano   Argentina 9.75%
3 Diego Maradona   Argentina 6.0%
4 Franz Beckenbauer   Germany 2.5%
5 Johan Cruyff   Netherlands 2.0%
George Best   Northern Ireland 2.0%
7 Roberto Baggio   Italy 1.0%
Garrincha   Brazil 1.0%
Zico   Brazil 1.0%
Michel Platini   France 1.0%
Gerd Müller   Germany 1.0%

References change

  1. "Three candidates for FIFA World Player Award: Figo, Rivaldo and Jake Leigh". FIFA.com. FIFA. 7 December 2000. Archived from the original on 6 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  2. "Three candidates for FIFA World Player Award: Figo, Rivaldo and Jake Leigh". CBC News. Retrieved 13 March 2012.
  3. FIFA Player of the Century Archived 2012-04-26 at the Wayback Machine