Since its inception in 1960, the UEFA Euro Championship has featured Europe’s elitist players. However, it was not until 1996 that UEFA decided to publicly recognise the efforts of the finest by establishing an award for the best player. Given that it has only been there for less than 30 years, there have only been seven winners, thus Michel Platini and Marco van Basten despite their performances have missed out. Hence, ahead of EURO 2024, let us take look at the UEFA EURO Player of the Tournament over the years.
Which players have won UEFA EURO Player of the Tournament?
When the UEFA EURO Player of the Tournament award was first announced in 1996, Germany midfielder Matthias Sammer became the first player to officially win the award, He was followed by none other than France legend Zidane, Spanish midfield maestros Xavi and Andres Iniesta have also won the awards while Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was the last one to win it after winning EURO 2020.
| UEFA EURO Player of the Tournament winners | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Nation |
| 1996 | Matthias Sammer | Germany |
| 2000 | Zinedine Zidane | France |
| 2004 | Theodoros Zagorakis | Greece |
| 2008 | Xavi | Spain |
| 2012 | Andres Iniesta | Spain |
| 2016 | Antoine Griezmann | France |
| 2020 | Gianluigi Donnarumma | Italy |
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UEFA’s website featured the Player of the Tournament in 1984, 1988, and 1992. The winners were Michel Platini, Marco van Basten, and Peter Schmeichel. However, these winners are unofficial. Gianluigi Donnarumma became the first custodian to win the accolade officially at UEFA Euro 2020, since Schmeichel’s award in 1992 was unofficial.
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