Ballon D'or:
The Ballon d'Or and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been voted to have performed the best over the previous year. The award was conceived by France Football's chief magazine writer Gabriel Hanot, who asked his colleagues to vote for the player of the year in Europe in 1956. The inaugural winner was Stanley Matthews of Blackpool.
Originally, journalists could only vote for European players at European clubs, meaning that players like Diego Maradona (who played in European football clubs but is not European) and Pelé (who neither played for a European club nor is European) were ineligible for the award. A change in the rules in 1995 allowed non-European players to be eligible for the award if they played for a European club. The first non-European to win after the rule change was Milan's George Weah in the same year. In 2007, any player in the world became eligible, and the number of journalists allowed to vote also increased; 96 journalists from around the world chose their top five players, as opposed to the 52 Europe-based journalists in 2006.
Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten. Platini is the only player to have won the award three times in a row, when he won the award from 1983 to 1985. Ronaldo became the first Brazilian to win the award in 1997, after non-Europeans were made eligible. With seven awards each, Dutch and German players won the Ballon d'Or the most. Italian clubs Juventus and Milan had the most winners respectively; six players have won eight awards while playing for each team. The final recipient of the Ballon d'Or was Lionel Messi, the third Argentine to win the award, but the first as an Argentine citizen.
The Ballon d'Or and the men's FIFA World Player of the Year award were merged in 2010 and the world's best male player has since been awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or each year. UEFA created the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in 2011, so it could keep the prestige of the old Ballon d'Or after it was merged to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Some famous Ballon D'or winners are:
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini (Born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Argentina.
By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then again in 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. In September 2014 he scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged just 27. In November 2014, Messi became the all-time top scorer in La Liga, and the all-time leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League.
Often considered the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, and the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won seven La Ligas, three Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, four UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups.
Messi is the only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League seasons, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored in the competition with five. In March 2012, he made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. In the 2011–12 season, Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season with 73 goals, set the goalscoring record in a single La Liga season with 50 goals, and became the second player ever to score in six different official competitions in one season after Pedro. In February 2013 he scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in a professional football league. He extended his record scoring streak to 21 consecutive league matches. In March 2014, with a hat-trick against Real Madrid, Messi became the player with the most goals and most hat-tricks in the history of El Clásico. In October 2014, Messi, aged 27, became the youngest player to score 250 goals in La Liga. In November 2014, Messi scored a hat-trick against Sevilla to reach 253 La Liga goals, becoming the all-time top scorer in La Liga. In May 2015, he scored his 77th Champions League goal to become its all-time leading scorer.
Messi helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing as both the best player and the top scorer (with six goals). In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the FIFA World Cup, and won a runners-up medal at the Copa América in 2007, in which he was named young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won an Olympic Gold Medal with the Argentina Olympic football team. At the 2014 World Cup, he led Argentina to the final, winning four consecutive Man of the Match awards in the process, and received the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament. In 2013, SportsPro rated him the second-most marketable athlete in the world.[10] His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".
Ballon D'or:
2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born 5 February 1985), known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Portugal.
By the age of 22, Ronaldo had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2008, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014. He also won the 2013–14 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. In January 2014, Ronaldo scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged 28.
Often ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Ronaldo is the first Portuguese footballer to win three FIFA/Ballons d'Or, and the first player to win four European Golden Shoe awards. In January 2015, Ronaldo was named as the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation, during its 100th anniversary celebrations. With Manchester United and Real Madrid, he has won three Premier Leagues, one La Liga, one FA Cup, two Football League Cups, two Copas del Rey, one FA Community Shield, one Supercopas de España, two UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and two FIFA Club World Cups.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Sporting CP. In 2003 he caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million). In 2004, he won his first trophy, the FA Cup. In 2007, Ronaldo was the first player in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. In 2008, he won 3 of the 4 main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze d'Or. In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year in 2009. He became the world's most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). His buyout clause is valued at €1 billion. In May 2012, he become the first footballer to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season, having scored 17 goals in the 2013–14 season. In December 2014, Ronaldo became the fastest player to score 200 goals in La Liga when, in his 178th La Liga game, he scored a hat-trick against Celta Vigo; his 23rd hat-trick was also a La Liga record. He is the only player in the history of football to score 50 or more goals in a season on five consecutive occasions.
Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in August 2003, at the age of 18. He has since been capped over 100 times and has participated in 6 major tournaments: three UEFA European Championships (2004, 2008 and 2012) and three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014). Ronaldo is the first Portuguese player to reach 50 international goals, making him Portugal's top goalscorer of all time as well as the country's top scorer in the European Championship with 6 goals. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of Euro 2004 against Greece, and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over captaincy in July 2008, and he led Portugal to the semi-finals at Euro 2012, finishing the competition as joint-top scorer in the process. In November 2014, Ronaldo became the all-time top scorer in the UEFA European Championship (including qualifying) with 23 goals.
Ballon D'or:
2008, 2013 and 2014.
Ricardo Kaka
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for American club Orlando City in Major League Soccer.
Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis, and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15 that he chose to focus on football.
In 2003 he joined Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won a Serie A title and the UEFA Champions League, and in 2007 he received the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or awards. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €65 million. At the time, this was the second highest transfer fee (in euros) ever, behind only the €75 million fee for Zinedine Zidane. After four seasons in Spain, he returned to Milan in 2013. He 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.
In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme. 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. Kaká was the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter.
Ballon D'or:
2007
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who is currently a free agent after last playing for Mexican club Querétaro. His main playing position is as an attacking midfielder or forward. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2004 and 2005. Renowned for his technique, tricks, dribbling, overhead kicks, no-look passes and free kicks, Ronaldinho is regarded to be one of the best players of his generation.
"Ronaldinho", the diminutive and term of endearment for "Ronaldo", is accompanied in Brazilian usage by the nickname "Gaúcho" (since he hails from southern Brazil), in order to distinguish him from fellow footballer and countryman Ronaldo, who was known as "Ronaldinho" in Brazil beforehand. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and go by the name Ronaldinho abroad.
Ronaldinho has played 97 matches and scored 33 goals for the Brazil national football team. He was an integral part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning team, starring alongside Ronaldo and Rivaldo in an attacking trio, and was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team.
At club level, Ronaldinho played first for the Brazilian side Grêmio before spending the bulk of his career with European clubs Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona, and Milan. He then returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo and Atlético Mineiro before moving to Mexico to play for Querétaro. With Barcelona, he won the UEFA Champions League in 2006 and the Ballon d'Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.[5] Ronaldinho was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé, and to the FIFPro World XI from 2005–2007.
Ballon D'or:
2005
Zinedine Zidan
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (Born 23 June 1972), nicknamed "Zizou", is a French former footballer and current coach of Real Madrid Castilla. He played as an attacking midfielder for the France national team, Juventus and Real Madrid. Renowned for his elegance, vision, ball control and technique, Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, and has been described as one of the greatest players in the history of the game
At club level, Zidane won the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. His 2001 transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid set a world record fee of an equivalent €75 million. On the international stage with France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in the final, and UEFA Euro 2000 where he was named Player of the Tournament. The World Cup triumph made him a national hero in France, and he received the Légion d'honneur in 1998.
Zidane has won the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, a feat achieved only by Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Ballon d'Or once. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001 and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. Zidane received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, and in the final against Italy was infamously sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. Prior to the World Cup, he announced he would retire at the end of the tournament.
After retirement, Zidane became assistant coach at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti for the 2013-14 season. After a successful year in which the club won the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey, Zidane became the coach of Real Madrid's B team, Real Madrid Castilla. In 2010, Zidane was an ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first Arab country to host the tournament.
Ballon D'or:
1998
The Ballon d'Or and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been voted to have performed the best over the previous year. The award was conceived by France Football's chief magazine writer Gabriel Hanot, who asked his colleagues to vote for the player of the year in Europe in 1956. The inaugural winner was Stanley Matthews of Blackpool.
Originally, journalists could only vote for European players at European clubs, meaning that players like Diego Maradona (who played in European football clubs but is not European) and Pelé (who neither played for a European club nor is European) were ineligible for the award. A change in the rules in 1995 allowed non-European players to be eligible for the award if they played for a European club. The first non-European to win after the rule change was Milan's George Weah in the same year. In 2007, any player in the world became eligible, and the number of journalists allowed to vote also increased; 96 journalists from around the world chose their top five players, as opposed to the 52 Europe-based journalists in 2006.
Three players have won the award three times each: Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco van Basten. Platini is the only player to have won the award three times in a row, when he won the award from 1983 to 1985. Ronaldo became the first Brazilian to win the award in 1997, after non-Europeans were made eligible. With seven awards each, Dutch and German players won the Ballon d'Or the most. Italian clubs Juventus and Milan had the most winners respectively; six players have won eight awards while playing for each team. The final recipient of the Ballon d'Or was Lionel Messi, the third Argentine to win the award, but the first as an Argentine citizen.
The Ballon d'Or and the men's FIFA World Player of the Year award were merged in 2010 and the world's best male player has since been awarded the FIFA Ballon d'Or each year. UEFA created the UEFA Best Player in Europe Award in 2011, so it could keep the prestige of the old Ballon d'Or after it was merged to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Some famous Ballon D'or winners are:
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi Cuccittini (Born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Argentina.
By the age of 21, Messi had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2009, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the inaugural FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2010, and then again in 2011 and 2012. He also won the 2010–11 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. At the age of 24, Messi became Barcelona's all-time top scorer in all official club competitions. In September 2014 he scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged just 27. In November 2014, Messi became the all-time top scorer in La Liga, and the all-time leading goalscorer in the UEFA Champions League.
Often considered the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Messi is the first football player in history to win four FIFA/Ballons d'Or, all of which he won consecutively, and the first to win three European Golden Shoe awards. With Barcelona, Messi has won seven La Ligas, three Copas del Rey, six Supercopas de España, four UEFA Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and two FIFA Club World Cups.
Messi is the only player to top-score in four consecutive Champions League seasons, and also holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored in the competition with five. In March 2012, he made Champions League history by becoming the first player to score five goals in one match. In the 2011–12 season, Messi set the European record for most goals scored in a season with 73 goals, set the goalscoring record in a single La Liga season with 50 goals, and became the second player ever to score in six different official competitions in one season after Pedro. In February 2013 he scored his 300th Barcelona goal. On 30 March 2013, Messi scored in his 19th consecutive La Liga game, becoming the first footballer in history to net in consecutive matches against every team in a professional football league. He extended his record scoring streak to 21 consecutive league matches. In March 2014, with a hat-trick against Real Madrid, Messi became the player with the most goals and most hat-tricks in the history of El Clásico. In October 2014, Messi, aged 27, became the youngest player to score 250 goals in La Liga. In November 2014, Messi scored a hat-trick against Sevilla to reach 253 La Liga goals, becoming the all-time top scorer in La Liga. In May 2015, he scored his 77th Champions League goal to become its all-time leading scorer.
Messi helped Argentina win the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup, finishing as both the best player and the top scorer (with six goals). In 2006, he became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the FIFA World Cup, and won a runners-up medal at the Copa América in 2007, in which he was named young player of the tournament. In 2008, he won an Olympic Gold Medal with the Argentina Olympic football team. At the 2014 World Cup, he led Argentina to the final, winning four consecutive Man of the Match awards in the process, and received the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament. In 2013, SportsPro rated him the second-most marketable athlete in the world.[10] His playing style and stature have drawn comparisons to compatriot Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".
Ballon D'or:
2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (born 5 February 1985), known as Cristiano Ronaldo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. He is a forward and serves as captain for Portugal.
By the age of 22, Ronaldo had received Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations. The following year, in 2008, he won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He followed this up by winning the FIFA Ballon d'Or in 2013 and 2014. He also won the 2013–14 UEFA Best Player in Europe Award. In January 2014, Ronaldo scored his 400th senior career goal for club and country aged 28.
Often ranked as the best player in the world and rated by some in the sport as the greatest of all time, Ronaldo is the first Portuguese footballer to win three FIFA/Ballons d'Or, and the first player to win four European Golden Shoe awards. In January 2015, Ronaldo was named as the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation, during its 100th anniversary celebrations. With Manchester United and Real Madrid, he has won three Premier Leagues, one La Liga, one FA Cup, two Football League Cups, two Copas del Rey, one FA Community Shield, one Supercopas de España, two UEFA Champions League, one UEFA Super Cup and two FIFA Club World Cups.
Ronaldo began his career as a youth player for Andorinha, where he played for two years, before moving to C.D. Nacional. In 1997, he made a move to Sporting CP. In 2003 he caught the attention of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, who signed him for £12.2 million (€15 million). In 2004, he won his first trophy, the FA Cup. In 2007, Ronaldo was the first player in England to win all four main PFA and FWA awards. In 2008, he won 3 of the 4 main PFA and FWA trophies and was named the FIFA World Player of the Year, FIFPro Player of the Year, World Soccer Player of the Year, and the Onze d'Or. In 2007 and 2008, Ronaldo was named FWA Footballer of the Year. He was the inaugural winner of the FIFA Puskás Award for Goal of the Year in 2009. He became the world's most expensive player when he moved from Manchester United to Real Madrid in 2009 in a transfer worth £80 million (€94 million/$132 million). His buyout clause is valued at €1 billion. In May 2012, he become the first footballer to score against every team in a single season in La Liga. Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored in a single UEFA Champions League season, having scored 17 goals in the 2013–14 season. In December 2014, Ronaldo became the fastest player to score 200 goals in La Liga when, in his 178th La Liga game, he scored a hat-trick against Celta Vigo; his 23rd hat-trick was also a La Liga record. He is the only player in the history of football to score 50 or more goals in a season on five consecutive occasions.
Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal in August 2003, at the age of 18. He has since been capped over 100 times and has participated in 6 major tournaments: three UEFA European Championships (2004, 2008 and 2012) and three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010 and 2014). Ronaldo is the first Portuguese player to reach 50 international goals, making him Portugal's top goalscorer of all time as well as the country's top scorer in the European Championship with 6 goals. He scored his first international goal in the opening game of Euro 2004 against Greece, and helped Portugal reach the final. He took over captaincy in July 2008, and he led Portugal to the semi-finals at Euro 2012, finishing the competition as joint-top scorer in the process. In November 2014, Ronaldo became the all-time top scorer in the UEFA European Championship (including qualifying) with 23 goals.
Ballon D'or:
2008, 2013 and 2014.
Ricardo Kaka
Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite (Born 22 April 1982), commonly known as Kaká or Ricardo Kaká, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for American club Orlando City in Major League Soccer.
Kaká started his footballing career at the age of eight, when he began playing for a local club. At the time, he also played tennis, and it was not until he moved on to São Paulo FC and signed his first professional contract with the club at the age of 15 that he chose to focus on football.
In 2003 he joined Milan for a fee of €8.5 million. While at Milan, Kaká won a Serie A title and the UEFA Champions League, and in 2007 he received the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or awards. After his success with Milan, Kaká joined Real Madrid for a transfer fee of €65 million. At the time, this was the second highest transfer fee (in euros) ever, behind only the €75 million fee for Zinedine Zidane. After four seasons in Spain, he returned to Milan in 2013. He 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.
In addition to his contributions on the pitch, Kaká is known for his humanitarian work. In 2004, by the time of his appointment, he became the youngest ambassador of the UN World Food Programme. 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. Kaká was the first sportsperson to amass 10 million followers on Twitter.
Ballon D'or:
2007
Ronaldinho
Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born 21 March 1980), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who is currently a free agent after last playing for Mexican club Querétaro. His main playing position is as an attacking midfielder or forward. He won the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2004 and 2005. Renowned for his technique, tricks, dribbling, overhead kicks, no-look passes and free kicks, Ronaldinho is regarded to be one of the best players of his generation.
"Ronaldinho", the diminutive and term of endearment for "Ronaldo", is accompanied in Brazilian usage by the nickname "Gaúcho" (since he hails from southern Brazil), in order to distinguish him from fellow footballer and countryman Ronaldo, who was known as "Ronaldinho" in Brazil beforehand. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the "Gaúcho" and go by the name Ronaldinho abroad.
Ronaldinho has played 97 matches and scored 33 goals for the Brazil national football team. He was an integral part of the 2002 FIFA World Cup winning team, starring alongside Ronaldo and Rivaldo in an attacking trio, and was named in the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team.
At club level, Ronaldinho played first for the Brazilian side Grêmio before spending the bulk of his career with European clubs Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona, and Milan. He then returned to Brazil to play for Flamengo and Atlético Mineiro before moving to Mexico to play for Querétaro. With Barcelona, he won the UEFA Champions League in 2006 and the Ballon d'Or in 2005. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.[5] Ronaldinho was named in the FIFA 100, a list of the world's greatest living players compiled by Pelé, and to the FIFPro World XI from 2005–2007.
Ballon D'or:
2005
Zinedine Zidan
Zinedine Yazid Zidane (Born 23 June 1972), nicknamed "Zizou", is a French former footballer and current coach of Real Madrid Castilla. He played as an attacking midfielder for the France national team, Juventus and Real Madrid. Renowned for his elegance, vision, ball control and technique, Zidane was named the best European footballer of the past 50 years in the UEFA Golden Jubilee Poll, and has been described as one of the greatest players in the history of the game
At club level, Zidane won the La Liga title and the UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid, two Serie A league championships with Juventus and an Intercontinental Cup and a UEFA Super Cup each with both aforementioned sides. His 2001 transfer from Juventus to Real Madrid set a world record fee of an equivalent €75 million. On the international stage with France, Zidane won the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scoring twice in the final, and UEFA Euro 2000 where he was named Player of the Tournament. The World Cup triumph made him a national hero in France, and he received the Légion d'honneur in 1998.
Zidane has won the FIFA World Player of the Year three times, a feat achieved only by Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Ballon d'Or once. He was Ligue 1 Player of the Year in 1996, Serie A Footballer of the Year in 2001 and La Liga Best Foreign Player in 2002. Zidane received the Golden Ball for player of the tournament at the 2006 World Cup, and in the final against Italy was infamously sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi in the chest. Prior to the World Cup, he announced he would retire at the end of the tournament.
After retirement, Zidane became assistant coach at Real Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti for the 2013-14 season. After a successful year in which the club won the UEFA Champions League and Copa del Rey, Zidane became the coach of Real Madrid's B team, Real Madrid Castilla. In 2010, Zidane was an ambassador for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first Arab country to host the tournament.
Ballon D'or:
1998
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