South American Footballer of the Year

Elías Figueroa and Carlos Tevez were each named the South American Footballer of the Year three times in succession, three decades apart.

The Rey de América ("King of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by Venezuelan newspaper El Mundo, which awarded it from 1971 to 1992. Uruguayan newspaper El País took over from 1986 onwards, and their award was considered official, but El Mundo continued their award until 1992.^[1]

Originally for the El Mundo award, journalists could vote for any South American and Central American players at any club around the world.^[2] From 1986 the El País award became official and only South American players playing in South America were eligible. From 1998, eligibility extended to South Americans playing in Mexico due to the participation of Mexican clubs in the Copa Libertadores.

From 1980 to 1983 the Argentinian newspaper El Gráfico also chose their El Futbolista De América ("Footballer of the Americas"). Any South American player playing the Americas at any point in the year was eligible.^[3]

The inaugural winner was Tostão of Cruzeiro. Three players have won the award three times each: Elías Figueroa of Internacional, Zico of Flamengo, and Carlos Tevez of Boca Juniors and Corinthians; Figueroa and Tevez did so in consecutive years. As of 2023, Brazilian players have won the most awards (17), with Argentinian players a close second with 16 wins. Argentine club River Plate have had the most winners with nine awards. The most recent recipient of the award is Germán Cano of Fluminense, who won for the 2023 season.

Winners[edit]

El Mundo award (1971–1985)[edit]

The award was officially awarded by newspaper El Mundo to the best South American footballer between 1971 and 1985. El Mundo continued their award until 1992, but it isn't considered official.^[4]^[5]

Year	Rank	Player	Team	Points
1971^[6]	1st	Tostão	Cruzeiro	24
	2nd	José Omar Pastoriza	Independiente	21
	3rd	Luis Artime	Nacional	19

1972^[7]	1st	Teófilo Cubillas	Alianza Lima	41
	2nd	Pelé	Santos	32
	3rd	Jairzinho	Botafogo	28

1973^[8]	1st	Pelé	Santos	54
	2nd	Miguel Ángel Brindisi	Huracán	43
	3rd	Rivellino	Corinthians	33

1974^[9]	1st	Elías Figueroa	Internacional	39
	2nd	Marinho Chagas	Botafogo	26
	3rd	Carlos Babington	SG Wattenscheid 09	22

1975^[10]	1st	Elías Figueroa	Internacional	50
	2nd	Norberto Alonso	River Plate	24
	3rd	Fernando Morena	Peñarol	23

1976^[11]	1st	Elías Figueroa	Internacional	–
	2nd	Zico	Flamengo	–
	3rd	Rivellino	Fluminense	–

1977^[12]	1st	Zico	Flamengo	–
	2nd	Rivellino	Fluminense	–
	3rd	Elías Figueroa	Palestino	–

1978^[13]	1st	Mario Kempes	Valencia	78
	2nd	Ubaldo Fillol	River Plate	59
	3rd	Dirceu	América	48

1979^[14]	1st	Diego Maradona	Argentinos Juniors	80
	2nd	Julio César Romero	Sportivo Luqueño	40
	3rd	Falcão	Internacional	29

1980^[15]	1st	Diego Maradona	Argentinos Juniors	89
	2nd	Zico	Flamengo	37
	3rd	Waldemar Victorino	Nacional	22

1981^[16]	1st	Zico	Flamengo	–
	2nd	Diego Maradona	Boca Juniors	–
	3rd	Júnior	Flamengo	–

1982^[17]	1st	Zico	Flamengo	78
	2nd	Falcão	Roma	46
	3rd	Diego Maradona	Barcelona	31

1983^[18]	1st	Sócrates	Corinthians	59
	2nd	Ubaldo Fillol	Argentinos Juniors	30
	3rd	Éder	Atlético Mineiro	29

1984^[19]	1st	Enzo Francescoli	River Plate	–
	2nd	Ubaldo Fillol	Flamengo	–
	3rd	Ricardo Bochini	Independiente	–

1985^[20]	1st	Julio César Romero	Fluminense	–
	2nd	Enzo Francescoli	River Plate	–
	3rd	Claudio Borghi	Argentinos Juniors	–

Unofficial El Mundo award (1986–1992)[edit]

Year	Rank	Player	Team	Points
1986^[21]	1st	Diego Maradona	Napoli	–
	2nd	Careca	São Paulo	–
	3rd	Hugo Sánchez	Real Madrid	–

1987^[22]	1st	Carlos Valderrama	Deportivo Cali	–
	2nd	Roberto Cabañas	América Cali	–
	3rd	Antonio Alzamendi	River Plate	–

1988^[23]	1st	Rubén Paz	Racing Club	–
	2nd	Hugo de León	Nacional	–
	3rd	Geovani Silva	Vasco da Gama	–
	3rd	Cláudio Taffarel	Internacional	–

1989^[24]	1st	Diego Maradona	Napoli	–
	2nd	Ruben Sosa	S.S. Lazio	–
	3rd	Bebeto	Vasco da Gama	–

1990^[25]	1st	Diego Maradona	Napoli	–
	2nd	Claudio Caniggia	Atalanta	–
	3rd	René Higuita	Atlético Nacional	–

1991^[26]	1st	Gabriel Batistuta	Fiorentina	–
	2nd	Claudio Caniggia	Atalanta	–
	3rd	Iván Zamorano	Sevilla	–

1992^[27]	1st	Diego Maradona	Sevilla	32
	2nd	Bebeto	Deportivo La Coruña	31
	3rd	Raí	São Paulo	25

El Gráfico award (1980–1983)[edit]

From 1980 to 1983 El Gráfico gave out their Footballer of the Americas award.^[28]

Year	Rank	Player	Team	Points
1980	1st	Diego Maradona	Argentinos Juniors	485
	2nd	Zico	Flamengo	292
	3rd	Ubaldo Fillol	Argentinos Juniors	120

1981	1st	Diego Maradona	Boca Juniors	572
	2nd	Zico	Flamengo	524
	3rd	Julio César Uribe	Sporting Cristal	131

1982	1st	Zico	Flamengo	381
	2nd	Diego Maradona	Barcelona	296
	3rd	Fernando Morena	Peñarol	214

1983	1st	Sócrates	Corinthians	286
	2nd	Ubaldo Fillol	Argentinos Juniors	251
	3rd	Rodolfo Rodríguez	Nacional	144

El País award (1986–present)[edit]

From 1986, the South American Footballer of the Year was named by El País.^[29]

Year	Rank	Player	Team	Points
1986	1st	Antonio Alzamendi	River Plate	–
	2nd	Careca	São Paulo	–
	3rd	Julio César Romero	Fluminense	–

1987	1st	Carlos Valderrama	Deportivo Cali	56
	2nd	Obdulio Trasante	Peñarol	27
	3rd	José Perdomo	Peñarol	25

1988	1st	Rubén Paz	Racing Club	–
	2nd	Hugo de León	Nacional	–
	3rd	José Pintos Saldanha	Nacional	–

1989	1st	Bebeto	Vasco da Gama	74
	2nd	Mazinho	Vasco da Gama	42
	3rd	René Higuita	Atlético Nacional	34

1990	1st	Raúl Vicente Amarilla	Olimpia	57
	2nd	Rubén da Silva	River Plate	32
	3rd	Leonel Álvarez	Atlético Nacional	25
	3rd	René Higuita	Atlético Nacional	25

1991	1st	Oscar Ruggeri	Vélez Sarsfield	44
	2nd	Ramón Díaz	River Plate	28
	3rd	Patricio Toledo	Universidad Católica	23

1992	1st	Raí	São Paulo	55
	2nd	Sergio Goycochea	Olimpia	24
	3rd	Alberto Acosta	San Lorenzo	20
	3rd	Fernando Gamboa	Newell's Old Boys	20

1993	1st	Carlos Valderrama	Junior	46
	2nd	Marco Etcheverry	Colo-Colo	30
	3rd	Cafu	São Paulo	28
	3rd	Freddy Rincón	Palmeiras	28

1994	1st	Cafu	São Paulo	36
	2nd	José Luis Chilavert	Vélez Sarsfield	35
	3rd	Gustavo Adrián López	Independiente	22

1995	1st	Enzo Francescoli	River Plate	34
	2nd	Diego Maradona	Boca Juniors	28
	3rd	Edmundo	Flamengo	24

1996	1st	José Luis Chilavert	Vélez Sarsfield	80
	2nd	Enzo Francescoli	River Plate	69
	3rd	Ariel Ortega	River Plate	41
	3rd	Carlos Valderrama	Junior	41

1997	1st	Marcelo Salas	River Plate	87
	2nd	Nolberto Solano	Sporting Cristal	39
	3rd	José Luis Chilavert	Vélez Sarsfield	37

1998	1st	Martín Palermo	Boca Juniors	73
	2nd	Carlos Gamarra	Corinthians	70
	3rd	José Luis Chilavert	Vélez Sarsfield	63

1999	1st	Javier Saviola	River Plate	55
	2nd	Francisco Arce	Palmeiras	45
	3rd	Juan Román Riquelme	Boca Juniors	42

2000	1st	Romário	Vasco da Gama	67
	2nd	Juan Román Riquelme	Boca Juniors	64
	3rd	Óscar Córdoba	Boca Juniors	53
	3rd	Martín Palermo	Boca Juniors	53

2001	1st	Juan Román Riquelme	Boca Juniors	88
	2nd	Óscar Córdoba	Boca Juniors	59
	3rd	Romário	Vasco da Gama	41

2002	1st	José Cardozo	Toluca	39
	2nd	Sergio Órteman	Olimpia	32
	3rd	Alejandro Lembo	Nacional	30

2003	1st	Carlos Tevez	Boca Juniors	73
	2nd	José Cardozo	Toluca	39
	3rd	Diego	Santos	33

2004	1st	Carlos Tevez	Boca Juniors	76
	2nd	Javier Mascherano	River Plate	56
	3rd	Lucho González	River Plate	37
	3rd	Robinho	Santos	37

2005	1st	Carlos Tevez	Corinthians	77
	2nd	Diego Lugano	São Paulo	54
	3rd	Cicinho	São Paulo	37

2006	1st	Matías Fernández	Colo-Colo	62
	2nd	Rodrigo Palacio	Boca Juniors	53
	3rd	Fernando Gago	Boca Juniors	50

2007	1st	Salvador Cabañas	América	67
	2nd	Claudio Morel Rodríguez	Boca Juniors	61
	3rd	Hugo Ibarra	Boca Juniors	57

2008	1st	Juan Sebastián Verón	Estudiantes	66
	2nd	Juan Román Riquelme	Boca Juniors	63
	3rd	Salvador Cabañas	América	47

2009	1st	Juan Sebastián Verón	Estudiantes	109
	2nd	Édison Méndez	LDU Quito	64
	2nd	Humberto Suazo	Monterrey	64
	3rd	Leandro Desábato	Estudiantes	52

2010	1st	Andrés D'Alessandro	Internacional	61
	2nd	Juan Sebastián Verón	Estudiantes	51
	3rd	Neymar	Santos	47

2011	1st	Neymar	Santos	130
	2nd	Eduardo Vargas	Universidad de Chile	70
	3rd	Paulo Henrique Ganso	Santos	33

2012	1st	Neymar	Santos	199
	2nd	Paolo Guerrero	Corinthians	50
	3rd	Lucas Moura	São Paulo	21

2013	1st	Ronaldinho	Atlético Mineiro	156
	2nd	Neymar	Santos	81
	3rd	Maxi Rodríguez	Newell's Old Boys	79

2014	1st	Teófilo Gutiérrez	River Plate	102
	2nd	Carlos Sánchez	River Plate	49
	3rd	Leonardo Pisculichi	River Plate	30

2015	1st	Carlos Sánchez	River Plate	182
	2nd	Carlos Tevez	Boca Juniors	61
	3rd	Miller Bolaños	Emelec	23

2016	1st	Miguel Borja	Atlético Nacional	85
	2nd	Gabriel Jesus	Palmeiras	76
	3rd	Alejandro Guerra	Atlético Nacional	50

2017	1st	Luan	Grêmio	182
	2nd	Paolo Guerrero	Flamengo	65
	3rd	Arthur	Grêmio	46

2018	1st	Pity Martínez	River Plate	130
	2nd	Juan Fernando Quintero	River Plate	49
	3rd	Franco Armani	River Plate	40

2019	1st	Gabriel Barbosa	Flamengo	168
	2nd	Bruno Henrique	Flamengo	83
	3rd	Giorgian De Arrascaeta	Flamengo	40

2020	1st	Marinho	Santos	80
	2nd	Ignacio Fernández	River Plate	59
	3rd	Gustavo Gómez	Palmeiras	57

2021	1st	Julián Álvarez	River Plate	59
	2nd	Gabriel Barbosa	Flamengo	45
	3rd	Gustavo Gómez	Palmeiras	30

2022	1st	Pedro	Flamengo	68
	2nd	Giorgian De Arrascaeta	Flamengo	64
	3rd	Julián Álvarez	River Plate	34

2023	1st	Germán Cano	Fluminense	167
	2nd	Luis Suárez	Grêmio	40
	3rd	Nicolás de la Cruz	River Plate	8

Wins by player[edit]

Javier Saviola and Germán Cano were the youngest and oldest winners at age 18 and age 35, respectively.

Player	1st	2nd	3rd
Zico	3 (1977, 1981, 1982)	2 (1976, 1980)
Tevez	3 (2003, 2004, 2005)	1 (2015)	—
Figueroa	3 (1974, 1975, 1976)	—	1 (1977)
Maradona	2 (1979, 1980)	2 (1981, 1995)	1 (1982)
Francescoli	2 (1984, 1995)	2 (1985, 1996)	—
Neymar	2 (2011, 2012)	1 (2013)	1 (2010)
Verón	2 (2008, 2009)	1 (2010)	—
Valderrama	2 (1987, 1993)	—	1 (1996)
Riquelme	1 (2001)	2 (2000, 2008)	1 (1999)
Chilavert	1 (1996)	1 (1994)	2 (1997, 1998)
Romero	1 (1985)	1 (1979)	1 (1986)
Pelé	1 (1973)	1 (1972)	—
Cardozo	1 (2002)	1 (2003)	—
Sanchez	1 (2015)	1 (2014)	—
Gabriel	1 (2019)	1 (2021)	—
Cafu	1 (1994)	—	1 (1993)
Palermo	1 (1998)	—	1 (2000)
Romario	1 (2000)	—	1 (2001)
Cabañas	1 (2007)	—	1 (2008)
Álvarez	1 (2021)	—	1 (2022)
Tostão	1 (1971)	—	—
Cubillas	1 (1972)	—	—
Kempes	1 (1978)	—	—
Sócrates	1 (1983)	—	—
Alzamendi	1 (1986)	—	—
Paz	1 (1988)	—	—
Bebeto	1 (1989)	—	—
Amarilla	1 (1990)	—	—
Ruggeri	1 (1991)	—	—
Raí	1 (1992)	—	—
Salas	1 (1997)	—	—
Saviola	1 (1999)	—	—
Fernández	1 (2006)	—	—
D'Alessandro	1 (2010)	—	—
Ronaldinho	1 (2013)	—	—
Gutiérrez	1 (2014)	—	—
Borja	1 (2016)	—	—
Luan	1 (2017)	—	—
Martínez	1 (2018)	—	—
Marinho	1 (2020)	—	—
Pedro	1 (2022)	—	—
Cano	1 (2023)	—	—

Wins by nationality[edit]

Country	Players	Total
Brazil	14	17
Argentina	12	16
Paraguay	5	5
Uruguay	4	5
Chile	3	5
Colombia	3	4
Peru	1	1

Wins by club[edit]

Club	Players	Total
River Plate	8	9
Flamengo	3	5
Boca Juniors	3	4
Santos	3	3
Internacional	2	4
São Paulo	2	2
Vasco da Gama	2	2
Corinthians	2	2
Vélez Sársfield	2	2
Fluminense	2	2
Argentinos Juniors	1	2
Estudiantes	1	2
Alianza Lima	1	1
América	1	1
Atlético Mineiro	1	1
Atlético Nacional	1	1
Colo-Colo	1	1
Cruzeiro	1	1
Deportivo Cali	1	1
Grêmio	1	1
Junior	1	1
Olimpia	1	1
Racing	1	1
Toluca	1	1
Valencia	1	1

References[edit]

Pierrend, José Luis (16 January 2009). "South American Coach and Player of the Year". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 18 January 2016.

^ "South American Coach and Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "Best soccer player in America ("El Mundo" of Venezuela)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
^ "El Gráfico Américas player of the year (1980-1983)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
^ "Best soccer player in America ("El Mundo" of Venezuela)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
^ "Best soccer player in America ("El Mundo" of Venezuela)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1971". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1972". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1973". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1974". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1975". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1976". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1977". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1978". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1979". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1980". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1981". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1982". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1983". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1984". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1985". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1986". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1987". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1988". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1989". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1990". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1991". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
^ "South American Player of the Year 1992". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
^ "El Gráfico Américas player of the year (1980-1983)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
^ "South American Coach and Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

External links[edit]

[1] "South American Coach and Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[2] "Best soccer player in America ("El Mundo" of Venezuela)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 30 August 2022.

[3] "El Gráfico Américas player of the year (1980-1983)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 13 March 2022.

[4] "Best soccer player in America ("El Mundo" of Venezuela)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 22 March 2022.

[5] "Best soccer player in America ("El Mundo" of Venezuela)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 17 October 2022.

[6] "South American Player of the Year 1971". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[7] "South American Player of the Year 1972". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[8] "South American Player of the Year 1973". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[9] "South American Player of the Year 1974". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[10] "South American Player of the Year 1975". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[11] "South American Player of the Year 1976". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[12] "South American Player of the Year 1977". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[13] "South American Player of the Year 1978". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[14] "South American Player of the Year 1979". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[15] "South American Player of the Year 1980". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[16] "South American Player of the Year 1981". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[17] "South American Player of the Year 1982". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[18] "South American Player of the Year 1983". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[19] "South American Player of the Year 1984". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[20] "South American Player of the Year 1985". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[21] "South American Player of the Year 1986". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[22] "South American Player of the Year 1987". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[23] "South American Player of the Year 1988". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[24] "South American Player of the Year 1989". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[25] "South American Player of the Year 1990". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[26] "South American Player of the Year 1991". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

[27] "South American Player of the Year 1992". RSSSF. Retrieved 8 August 2022.

[28] "El Gráfico Américas player of the year (1980-1983)". BigSoccer Forum. Retrieved 13 March 2022.

[29] "South American Coach and Player of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 19 December 2021.

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v t e South American Footballer of the Year (Rey de América)
El Mundo award	1971: Tostão 1972: Cubillas 1973: Pelé 1974: Figueroa 1975: Figueroa 1976: Figueroa 1977: Zico 1978: Kempes 1979: Maradona 1980: Maradona 1981: Zico 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates 1984: Francescoli 1985: Romerito 1986: Maradona 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Maradona 1990: Maradona 1991: Batistuta 1992: Maradona
El Gráfico award	1980: Maradona 1981: Maradona 1982: Zico 1983: Sócrates
El País award	1986: Alzamendi 1987: Valderrama 1988: Paz 1989: Bebeto 1990: Amarilla 1991: Ruggeri 1992: Raí 1993: Valderrama 1994: Cafu 1995: Francescoli 1996: Chilavert 1997: Salas 1998: Palermo 1999: Saviola 2000: Romário 2001: Riquelme 2002: Cardozo 2003: Tevez 2004: Tevez 2005: Tevez 2006: Fernández 2007: Cabañas 2008: Verón 2009: Verón 2010: D'Alessandro 2011: Neymar 2012: Neymar 2013: Ronaldinho 2014: Gutiérrez 2015: Sánchez 2016: Borja 2017: Luan 2018: Martínez 2019: Gabriel 2020: Marinho 2021: Álvarez 2022: Pedro 2023: Cano