Past 7 Winners of European Championship Player of the Tournament Award Ahead of Euro 2024

Several individual awards are given out at major football tournaments, but none is as glamorous as being named the overall best player for international events.

There are a maximum of seven games at the European Championship where a player can influence results for their countries and be recognised as the standout player.

UEFA officially began recognising the best player at the championship in 1996, and seven players have been awarded the title despite the tournament starting in 1960.

Sports Brief looks at the past seven winners of the award ahead of Euro 2024.

Past winners of Euro’s best player award

1. Gianluigi Donnarumma

According to BBC Sports, he was the second goalkeeper to win the award after Peter Schmeichel in 1992, but was the first officially recognised shot-stopper to win it, as the award wasn’t acknowledged until 1996.

According to UEFA, he played 719 minutes across six games, missing only one game after being rested by Roberto Mancini. He conceded four goals and kept three clean sheets, saving three penalties, including two in the final.

2. Antoine Griezmann

France lost Euro 2016 after a late goal from Eder won it for Portugal, but Griezmann was recognised as the tournament's most valuable player regardless.

The Atletico Madrid star was also the top scorer, with six goals in seven games, scoring as many as the next two, Cristiano Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata, combined.

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3. Andres Iniesta

Spain won their second consecutive European championship in 2012, and Barcelona legend Andres Iniesta was the standout player at the tournament, consolidating on his 2010 World Cup performance.

He provided only one assist and didn't score, yet he was named the most valuable player. He pulled strings in midfield for La Roja and was named man of the match in three games, including in the final 4-0 win over Italy.

4. Xavi Hernandez

Spain’s era of dominance on the continental and world stages began at the 2008 European Championship in Austria, and Barca legend, Xavi Hernandez, was the star of that team.

He starred in Vicente del Bosque’s 4-3-3 set-up, dictating the tempo as Spain won their first international trophy. He scored the opener in the 4-1 semi-final victory over Russia and provided the assist for Fernando Torres's only goal to win the final.

5. Theodoros Zagorakis

Greece shocked the world when they won Euro 2004, which was hosted in Portugal. They beat the hosts in the final. Both teams came out of the same group and met twice, with the Greeks winning on both occasions, 2-1 in the group stage and 1-0 in the final.

Former AEK Athens midfielder, Zagorakis, was named the player of the tournament for his outstanding performances for Greece despite the captain making only one attacking contribution in six games.

6. Zinedine Zidane

France followed up with their 1998 FIFA World Cup win by triumphing at Euro 2000, which was held in Belgium and the Netherlands. Zinedine Zidane was named the player of the tournament, and UEFA described it as 'dominating a major championship in a way no individual had managed since Diego Maradona in 1986'.

He scored two goals and provided one assist. The only match he missed was the third group game, which the manager rested him for because qualification had already been secured. Les Bleus lost 3-2 in his absence.

7. Matthias Sammer

Germany won their first international trophy in 1996 as a united nation after the West and East merged, having list the 1992 final to Denmark and being eliminated by Bulgaria in the quarter-final of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Sammer took on the role of a sweeper at that tournament, being the only East Germany-born player in the squad, and was seen as a symbol of unity for the new nation. He scored two goals and won three man-of-the-match more than any other player.

Three other players have been recognised as players of the tournaments even though it was not official until 1996 - Michel Platini in 1984, Marco van Basten in 1988, and Peter Schmeichel in 1992.

Platini, van Basten and Griezmann are the only three players to win the Golden Boot and Golden Ball in the same tournament with nine, five, and six goals, respectively.

Top 5 players left out of France squad

Sports Brief reported on the five players left out of France's squad for the 2024 European Championship after Didier Deschamps announced Les Bleus team recently.

A Chelsea right-back was one of the high-profile names missing from the list despite an impressive season for his club, with Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise also out.