UEFA Euro: List of all player of the Tournament award winners

The award was introduced in 1996.

The UEFA Euro is a prestigious European continental competition where the best nations across the continent compete to win the ultimate coveted trophy. It is the second-most watched football tournament worldwide, following the FIFA World Cup.

With its first-ever edition being hosted by France in 1960, some prominent European teams such as England, the Netherlands, Germany, and Italy were not a part of the maiden event. Unlike the 24-team group stage format now, the inaugural European Championship was a small competition with just four teams qualifying for the final tournament: France, Soviet Union, Yugoslavia & Czechoslovakia. Ultimately, the Soviet Union was crowned the champions after defeating Yugoslavia 2-1 in the final.

Over its 16 iterations, Spain are the joint most successful nations in the competition’s history, with an incredible 4 Euro titles under their belt.

In terms of individual achievements, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record for the most European Championship goals with 14. Along with this, Ronaldo also holds the record for the most appearances in the Euros, with 30 matches played.

The Player of the Tournament Award is presented to the best player in the competition. The Euro Player of the Tournament Award was officially introduced in the competition for the first time almost three decades ago, in 1996, with Germany’s Matthias Sammer being the first-ever recipient of the coveted honor after playing an instrumental role in his nation’s third European Championship triumph.

On the other hand, Italy’s Gianluigi Donnarumma became the first goalkeeper to claim the award at Euro 2020 after guiding the Gli Azzurri to their second Euro trophy.

List of all Player of the Tournament Award winners in the UEFA Euro:

1996 – Matthias Sammer (Germany)

2000 – Zinedine Zidane (France)

2004 – Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece)

2008 – Xavi (Spain)

2012 – Andrés Iniesta (Spain)

2016 – Antoine Griezmann (France)

2020 – Gianluigi Donnarumma (Italy)

2024: Rodri (Spain)

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