FIFA Player of the Century was a one-off award created by FIFA

FIFA

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...

 to decide the greatest football player of the 20th century. Pele shared the honour with Diego Maradona. The two men are both officially considered winners of this award.

Background

Since 1991, FIFA have had awards for FIFA World Player of the Year

FIFA World Player of the Year

The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award given annually to the male and female player who were thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams...

 and they decided to bring in the new millennium by conducting a public vote to decide the FIFA Player of the Century. This was to be decided by votes on their official website, their official magazine and a grand jury. Maradona won the Internet based poll by wide margins, garnering 53.6% of the votes against 18.53% for Pelé. In spite of this, and shortly before the ceremony, FIFA unexpectedly decided to add a second award and appointed a "Football Family" committee composed of football journalists that also gave to Pelé the title of best player of the century to make it a draw. Many suspected that Pelé was rewarded for his constant support of FIFA, in contrast to Maradona's frequent criticism

Vote specialists (IFFHS)

This award is decided by vote which was conducted with the participation of specialists from around the sports world.

	Player	Nationality	Votes
1	Pele Pelé However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...		1705
2	Johan Cruijff		1303
3	Franz Beckenbauer Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...		1228
4	Alfredo di Stéfano Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé, born into a family of Italian immigrants from Capri, is a former Argentinian footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time...		1215
5	Diego Armando Maradona		1214
6	Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás Ferenc Puskás was a Hungarian footballer and manager. He scored 84 goals in 85 international matches for Hungary, and 514 goals in 529 matches in the Hungarian and Spanish leagues. He became Olympic champion in 1952 and was a World Cup finalist in 1954...		810
7	Michel Platini Michel Platini Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...		722
8	Garrincha Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos , known by the nickname "Garrincha" , was an association football right winger and forward who helped the Brazil national team win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. He played the majority of his professional career for Brazilian club Botafogo.The word garrincha itself...		624
9	Eusébio Eusébio Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, GCIH, GCM , commonly known simply as Eusébio, is a retired Mozambican-born Portuguese football forward. He is considered one of the best footballers of all-time by the IFFHS, experts and fans...		544
10	Bobby Charlton Bobby Charlton Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...		508
11	Stanley Matthews Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE was an English footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the English game, he is the only player to have been knighted while still playing, as well as being the first winner of both the European Footballer of the Year and the Football Writers'...		368
12	Marco van Basten		315
13	Gerd Müller Gerd Müller Gerhard "Gerd" Müller is a former German football player and one of the most prolific goalscorers of all time.With national records of 68 goals in 62 international appearances, 365 goals in 427 Bundesliga games and the international record of 66 goals in 74 European Club games, he was one of the...		310
14	Zico Zico Arthur Antunes Coimbra , better known as Zico , is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. He is the current head coach of the Iraq national football team. Often called the "White Pelé", he is commonly considered one of the most skilled finishers and one of the best passers ever and possibly the...		207
15	Lothar Matthäus Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus , is a German football manager and former player.In 1990, he was named European Footballer of the Year and World Soccer Player of the Year after captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 World Cup...		202
16	George Best George Best George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...		187
17	Juan Alberto Schiaffino Juan Alberto Schiaffino Juan Alberto "Pepe" Schiaffino Villano was an Italian Uruguayan football player. He played inside forward, in particular with CA Peñarol and AC Milan, and won the 1950 FIFA World Cup with the Uruguayan national team...		158
18 Totti (Italy)	Ruud Gullit Ruud Gullit OON is a Dutch football manager and former football player, who played professionally in the 1980s and 1990s. He was the captain of the Netherlands national team that was victorious at Euro 88 and was also a member of the squad for the 1990 World Cup. He was named the European Footballer of the...		119
19	Didí Valdir Pereira Waldyr Pereira , nicknamed Didi , was a Brazilian footballer who played midfielder. He played in three World Cups: 1954, 1958, and 1962, winning the latter two. He is considered to be one of the greatest midfielders in the sport renowned for his range of passing, stamina and flawless technique...		116
20	Gianni Rivera Gianni Rivera Giovanni Rivera is an Italian former football midfielder, mostly as an offensive playmaker, who was awarded the Ballon d'Or, one of the most prestigious individual awards in football, in 1969. He played the majority of his career with Serie A side A.C. Milan...		116
21	Giuseppe Meazza Giuseppe Meazza Giuseppe "Peppino" Meazza , also known as il Balilla, was an Italian footballer playing mainly for Internazionale in the 1930s, scoring 242 goals in 365 games for the club. He led Italy to win two World Cups: in 1934 and in 1938, winning the Golden Ball Award in 1934. He is widely considered the...		108
22	Matthias Sindelar Matthias Sindelar Matthias Sindelar was an Austrian footballer.He played centre-forward for the celebrated Austria national team of the early 1930s known as the Wunderteam, which he captained at the 1934 World Cup....		106
23	Fritz Walter Fritz Walter Friedrich "Fritz" Walter was a German footballer. In his time with the German national team, he won 61 caps and scored 33 goals.-Early club career:...		103
24	Bobby Moore Bobby Moore Robert Frederick Chelsea "Bobby" Moore, OBE was an English footballer. He captained West Ham United for more than ten years and was captain of the England team that won the 1966 World Cup...		98
25	José Manuel Moreno José Manuel Moreno José Manuel Moreno Fernández , nicknamed "El Charro", was an Argentine football inside forward who played for several clubs in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia, and was the first footballer ever to have won top division league titles in four different countries .Moreno...		96
26	Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Hugo Sánchez Márquez , popularly nicknamed Pentapichichi, or Hugol, is a Mexican football coach and former striker. He played for four European clubs, including Real Madrid. Sanchez is considered the first highly talented Mexican player. He was also a member of the Mexico national team, and...		85
27	George Weah George Weah George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian humanitarian and politician, and an ex-footballer. He ran unsuccessfully for president in the 2005 election, losing to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in the second round of voting...		79
28	Roger Milla Roger Milla Roger Milla is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as a striker. He was one of the first African players to be a major star on the international stage...		78
29	José Leandro Andrade		74
30	Just Fontaine Just Fontaine Just "Justo" Fontaine is a former French football player.-Football career:He holds the record for most goals scored in a single FIFA World Cup finals tournament, with 13 in 1958...		73
–	Francisco Gento Francisco Gento Francisco "Paco" Gento López is a former Spanish football player.-Biography:He débuted in the Primera División with Racing Santander in the 1952–53 season...		73
32	Ladislao Kubala Ladislao Kubala László Kubala Stecz , also referred to as Ladislav Kubala, Ladislao Kubala, was a footballer, who played as a forward with, among others, Ferencvárosi TC, ŠK Slovan Bratislava, Vasas SC, FC Barcelona and RCD Espanyol. He also played for three different national teams, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and...		71
33	Franco Baresi Franco Baresi Franco Baresi is an Italian football youth team coach and former player. He played as a sweeper and spent his entire career with Serie A club AC Milan, acknowledged as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game. Baresi was nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "Little one"...		70
34	Josef Bican Josef Bican Josef "Pepi" Bican was a Czech-Austrian football forward. It is estimated by respected footballing statistics page RSSSF that Bican scored around 800 goals in all competitive matches, not including friendly games...		63
35	Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Karl-Heinz "Kalle" Rummenigge is a German former football player.He had his greatest career success with German club Bayern Munich, where he won the Intercontinental Cup, the European Cup, as well as two league titles and two domestic cups.A member of the German national team, Rummenigge won the...		59
36	Omar Sívori Omar Sivori Enrique Omar Sívori was an Italian Argentine football striker and manager. He is known for his time with the successful Juventus side during the late 1950s and early 1960s. At club level he also played for River Plate and Napoli.On the international level, he first appeared for the Argentine...		56
37	Elías Figueroa Elías Figueroa Elías Ricardo Figueroa Brander is a former football player from Chile. He is considered the best Chilean footballer of all time, as well as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game....		55
38	Kevin Keegan Kevin Keegan Joseph Kevin Keegan, OBE is a former international footballer and former manager of the England national football team and several English clubs, most notably Newcastle United....		53
39	Sándor Kocsis Sándor Kocsis Sándor Kocsis Péter was a Hungarian footballer who played for Ferencváros TC, Budapest Honvéd, Young Fellows Zürich, FC Barcelona and Hungary. During the 1950s, along with Ferenc Puskás, Zoltán Czibor, József Bozsik and Nándor Hidegkuti, he was a member of the Mighty Magyars...		52
40	Héctor Scarone Héctor Scarone Héctor Pedro Scarone Beretta was a Uruguayan football striker. He went on for many years Since 1930 to holds the record as the all-time leading scorer with 31 goals in 52 games between 1917 and 1930 for the Uruguayan national team...		51
41	Josef Masopust Josef Masopust Josef Masopust is a Czechoslovakian former football player and coach. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1962. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player of the Czech Republic by the Football Association of the Czech Republic as their most...		46
42	Giacinto Facchetti Giacinto Facchetti Giacinto Facchetti was an Italian football player. From January 2004 until his death, he was President of Internazionale, the club for which he played for his whole career during the 1960s and 1970s, playing 634 official games and scoring 75 goals. He played for the Internazionale team remembered...		44
43	Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa Raymond Kopa , is a former French football offensive midfielder, integral to the French national team of the 1950s....		41
–	Sandro Mazzola		41
45	Uwe Seeler		40
46	Gunnar Nordahl Gunnar Nordahl Gunnar Nordahl was a Swedish football player, best known for his play in AC Milan 1949-1956.-Sweden:...		36
47	Zizinho Zizinho Thomaz Soares da Silva, also known as Zizinho , was a Brazilian football player, who played as an attacking midfielder or winger for Brazil's national team. He came to international prominence at the 1950 World Cup, where scored two goals...		35
48	Teófilo Cubillas Teófilo Cubillas Teófilo Juan Cubillas Arizaga is a Peruvian former footballer. He was selected as Peru's greatest ever player in an IFFHS poll, in which he was also included in the world's Top 50...		34
49	Arsenio Erico Arsenio Erico Arsenio Pastor Erico was a Paraguayan football forward. He is the all-time highest goalscorer in the Argentine first division...		30
50	Denis Law Denis Law Denis Law is a retired Scottish football player, who enjoyed a long and successful career as a striker from the 1950s to the 1970s....		29
51	Silvio Piola Silvio Piola Silvio Piola was an Italian footballer from Robbio Lomellina, province of Pavia. He is known as a highly prominent figure in the history of Italian football due to several records he set. Piola won the 1938 FIFA World Cup with Italy, scoring two goals in the final.Piola is third in the all-time...		28
52	Adolfo Pedernera Adolfo Pedernera Adolfo Alfredo Pedernera , born in Avellaneda, Argentina, was a football player and coach. Nicknamed "El Maestro" , He is still considered by many to be one of the greatest Argentine players of all-time. He was elected the 12th best South american footballer of the 20th century in a poll by the...		27
53	Obdulio Varela Obdulio Varela Obdulio Jacinto Muiños Varela was a Uruguayan football player. He was the captain of the Uruguayan national team that won the 1950 World Cup after beating Brazil in the decisive final round match popularly known as the Maracanazo...		24
54	Arthur Friedenreich Arthur Friedenreich Arthur Friedenreich was a Brazilian football player. Nicknamed The Tiger, he was arguably the sport's first outstanding black player.-Biography:...		23
55	Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup is a retired Danish footballer, who works as a manager and last coached La Liga side RCD Mallorca. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of football. His most prominent run of football came with Spanish club Barcelona, with whom he won four straight La...		22
56	Alberto Spencer Alberto Spencer Alberto Pedro Spencer Herrera was an Ecuadorian football player, regarded as the best of his country. He is probably best known for his still-standing record for scoring the most goals in the Copa Libertadores, the most important club tournament in South America...		21
–	József Bozsik József Bozsik József Bozsik was a Hungarian footballer. He represented Hungary in various international tournaments, and is a member of the Mighty Magyars.-Biography:...		21
58	Tostão Tostão Eduardo Gonçalves de Andrade , better known as Tostão, is a former Brazilian footballer, who played as a forward. In his prime, he was considered one of the best offensive players in the world, while also contributing with many assists thanks to his passing abilities.-Football career:Born in Belo...		19
59	Ernst Ocwirk Ernst Ocwirk Ernst Ocwirk was an Austrian football player and coach. He is considered one of the greatest Austrian footballers of all time....		18
60	Cha Bum-Kun Cha Bum-Kun Cha Bum-Kun is a South Korean football manager and former player, nicknamed Tscha Bum in Germany because of his name and his thunderous ball striking ability. In South Korea, Cha is greatly respected for his accomplishments in the Bundesliga and the South Korean national team...		11
–	Paul van Himst Paul Van Himst Paul van Himst is a former talented Belgian football midfielder and a football manager. Now retired, he still supports R.S.C. Anderlecht, his former team. He was nicknamed Polle Gazon due to the large number of fouls committed on him...		11
62	Lakhdar Belloumi Lakhdar Belloumi Lakhdar Belloumi is a former Algerian football player and manager. He is widely considered as the best Algerian player of all time and one of the best players in Africa and the world. He is said to have invented the Blind Pass...		10
–	Rabah Madjer Rabah Madjer Mustapha Rabah Madjer is a retired Algerian footballer.A skilled striker, he reached stardom as an F.C. Porto player during the 1980s, and is widely regarded as one of the best Algerian football players of all time. He is widely remembered for scoring on 77 minutes, an audacious back-heeled...		10
64	Majed Abdullah		9
–	Luis Cubilla Luís Cubilla Luis Alberto Cubilla Almeida is a former Uruguayan football player and coach. He had a successful playing career winning 15 major titles...		9
–	Oleg Blokhin Oleg Blokhin Oleh Volodymyrovych "Oleg" Blokhin is a Ukrainian football coach and current head coach of the Ukrainian national team. Blokhin was formerly a standout striker for Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet national team...		9

FIFA internet vote

The results of FIFA's internet Poll were as follows:

Player	Nationality
Diego Maradona	Argentina
Pele	Brazil
Eusebio	Portugal
Roberto Baggio	Italy
Romario	Brazil
Marco Van Basten	Netherlands
Ronaldo	Brazil
Franz Beckenbauer	Germany
Zinedine Zidane	France
Rivaldo	Brazil
Zico	Brazil
Garrincha	Brazil
Johan Cruyff	Netherlands
Alfredo di Stefano	Argentina
Michel Platini	France

FIFA Magazine and Grand Jury vote

This part of the award was decided by the FIFA Magazine and Grand Jury .

	Player	Nationality	Percentage
1	Pelé Pelé However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...	Brazil	72.8%
2	Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Di Stéfano Alfredo Stéfano Di Stéfano Laulhé, born into a family of Italian immigrants from Capri, is a former Argentinian footballer and coach, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time...	Argentina	9.8%
3	Diego Maradona Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...	Argentina	6.0%
4	Franz Beckenbauer Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...	Germany	2.5%
5	Johan Cruyff Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff OON , known as Johan Cruyff, is a retired Dutch footballer and is currently the manager of the Catalan national team as well as a member of the AFC Ajax board of directors. He won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974, which is a record jointly held with...	Netherlands	2.0%
6	Michel Platini Michel Platini Michel François Platini is a former French football player, manager and current president of UEFA. Platini was a member of the French national team that won the 1984 European Championship, a tournament in which he was the top goalscorer and voted the best player. He participated in the 1978, 1982...	Early Modern France	1.0%
7	Garrincha Garrincha Manuel Francisco dos Santos , known by the nickname "Garrincha" , was an association football right winger and forward who helped the Brazil national team win the World Cups of 1958 and 1962. He played the majority of his professional career for Brazilian club Botafogo.The word garrincha itself...	Brazil	0.95%
8	Zico Zico Arthur Antunes Coimbra , better known as Zico , is a Brazilian coach and former footballer. He is the current head coach of the Iraq national football team. Often called the "White Pelé", he is commonly considered one of the most skilled finishers and one of the best passers ever and possibly the...	Brazil	0.9%
9	George Best George Best George Best was a professional footballer from Northern Ireland, who played for Manchester United and the Northern Ireland national team. He was a winger whose game combined pace, acceleration, balance, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to beat defenders...	Northern Ireland	0.3%
10	Bobby Charlton Bobby Charlton Sir Robert "Bobby" Charlton CBE is an English former professional football player, a member of the England team who won the World Cup and Ballon d'Or for European Footballer of the Year in 1966...	Kingdom of England	0.3%

FIFA Centennial Award

FIFA Centennial Player and Football Personality

Winner	Nationality
Franz Beckenbauer Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German football coach, manager, and former player, nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, his leadership, his first name "Franz" , and his dominance on the football pitch...	Germany
Pelé Pelé However, Pelé has always maintained that those are mistakes, that he was actually named Edson and that he was born on 23 October 1940.), best known by his nickname Pelé , is a retired Brazilian footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time...	Brazil