EUROPEAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR
This award begun in 1956 by France Football magazine. Before 1995 only European players playing in Europe were eligible but since then non-European players have also been declared eligible. The results in 1999 are:
| RANK | NAME | NATIONALITY |
VOTES |
| 1 | Rivaldo | Brazil | 219 |
| 2 | David Beckham | England | 154 |
| 3 | Andrii Shevchenko | Ukraine | 64 |
| 4 | Gabriel Batisuta | Argentina | 48 |
| 5 | Luis Figo | Portugal | 38 |
Rivaldo won yet another player of the year award, showing that he is the best player in the world. David Beckham continued to come close to winning the award with another runners-up position. Andrii Shevchenko came third after impressing for both Dynamo Kiev and Milan. Previous winners of the award are:
| YEAR | NAME | NATIONALITY |
| 1956 | Stanley Matthews | England |
| 1957 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Spain |
| 1958 | Raymond Kopa | France |
| 1959 | Alfredo Di Stefano | Spain |
| 1960 | Luis Suarez | Spain |
| 1961 | Omar Sivori | Italy |
| 1962 | Josef Masopust | Czechoslovakia |
| 1963 | Lev Yashin | USSR |
| 1964 | Denis Law | Scotland |
| 1965 | Eusebio | Portugal |
| 1966 | Bobby Charlton | England |
| 1967 | Florian Albert | Hungary |
| 1968 | George Best | Northern Ireland |
| 1969 | Gianni Rivera | Italy |
| 1970 | Gerd Muller | Germany |
| 1971 | Johan Cruyff | Holland |
| 1972 | Franz Beckenbauer | Germany |
| 1973 | Johan Cruyff | Holland |
| 1974 | Johan Cruyff | Holland |
| 1975 | Oleg Blokhim | USSR |
| 1976 | Franz Beckenbauer | Germany |
| 1977 | Allan Simonsen | Denmark |
| 1978 | Kevin Keegan | England |
| 1979 | Kevin Keegan | England |
| 1980 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Germany |
| 1981 | Karl-Heinz Rummenigge | Germany |
| 1982 | Paolo Rossi | Italy |
| 1983 | Michel Platini | France |
| 1984 | Michel Platini | France |
| 1985 | Michel Platini | France |
| 1986 | Igor Belanov | USSR |
| 1987 | Ruud Gullit | Holland |
| 1988 | Marco Van Basten | Holland |
| 1989 | Marco Van Basten | Holland |
| 1990 | Lothar Matthaus | Germany |
| 1991 | Jean-Pierre Papin | France |
| 1992 | Marco Van Basten | Holland |
| 1993 | Roberto Baggio | Italy |
| 1994 | Hristo Stoichkov | Bulgaria |
| 1995 | George Weah | Liberia |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany |
| 1997 | Ronaldo | Brazil |
| 1998 | Zinedine Zidane | France |
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