The FIFA World Player of the Year is a popularly recognised association football award that was presented annually by the sport’s governing body, FIFA, between 1991-2015 during the FIFA World Player Gala. As per reports, the captains as well as the coaches, and also the international media representatives asked by FIFA are considered to be given the responsibility of choosing the winners. However, the three finalists are ordered based on the total number of points secured in a positional voting system, where every voter is given three votes, worth five points, three points, and one point. Moreover, since 2004 the FIFA organization has provided shortlists from which its voters could select and make their choices. Given below is a list of the players, their teams, points, and also their ranks along with other details.
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Points |
| 1991 | 1st | Lothar Matthäus | Inter Milan | 128 |
| 2nd | Jean-Pierre Papin | Marseille | 113 | |
| 3rd | Gary Lineker | Tottenham Hotspur | 40 | |
| 1992 | 1st | Marco van Basten | Milan | 166 |
| 2nd | Hristo Stoichkov | Barcelona | 88 | |
| 3rd | Thomas Häßler | Roma | 61 | |
| 1993 | 1st | Roberto Baggio | Juventus | 152 |
| 2nd | Romário | Barcelona | 84 | |
| 3rd | Dennis Bergkamp | Inter Milan | 58 | |
| 1994 | 1st | Romário | Barcelona | 346 |
| 2nd | Hristo Stoichkov | Barcelona | 100 | |
| 3rd | Roberto Baggio | Juventus | 80 | |
| 1995 | 1st | George Weah | Milan | 170 |
| 2nd | Paolo Maldini | Milan | 80 | |
| 3rd | Jürgen Klinsmann | Bayern Munich | 58 | |
| 1996 | 1st | Ronaldo | Barcelona | 329 |
| 2nd | George Weah | Milan | 140 | |
| 3rd | Alan Shearer | Newcastle United | 123 |
| 1997 | 1st | Ronaldo | Inter Milan | 480 |
| 2nd | Roberto Carlos | Real Madrid | 85 | |
| 3rd | Dennis Bergkamp | Arsenal
Juventus |
62
62 |
|
| 1998 | 1st | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | 518 |
| 2nd | Ronaldo | Inter Milan | 164 | |
| 3rd | Davor Šuker | Real Madrid | 108 | |
| 1999 | 1st | Rivaldo | Barcelona | 543 |
| 2nd | David Beckham | Manchester United | 194 | |
| 3rd | Gabriel Batistuta | Fiorentina | 79 | |
| 2000 | 1st | Zinedine Zidane | Juventus | 370 |
| 2nd | Luis Figo | Real Madrid | 329 | |
| 3rd | Rivaldo | Barcelona | 263 | |
| 2001 | 1st | Luís Figo | Real Madrid | 250 |
| 2nd | David Beckham | Manchester United | 238 | |
| 3rd | Raúl | Real Madrid | 96 | |
| 2002 | 1st | Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 387 |
| 2nd | Oliver Kahn | Bayern Munich | 171 | |
| 3rd | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 148 |
| 2003 | 1st | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 264 |
| 2nd | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 200 | |
| 3rd | Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 176 | |
| 2004 | 1st | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | 620 |
| 2nd | Thierry Henry | Arsenal | 552 | |
| 3rd | Andriy Shevchenko | Milan | 253 | |
| 2005 | 1st | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | 956 |
| 2nd | Frank Lampard | Chelsea | 306 | |
| 3rd | Samuel Eto’o | Barcelona | 190 | |
| 2006 | 1st | Fabio Cannavaro | Real Madrid | 498 |
| 2nd | Zinedine Zidane | Real Madrid | 454 | |
| 3rd | Ronaldinho | Barcelona | 380 | |
| 2007 | 1st | Kaká | Milan | 1047 |
| 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 504 | |
| 3rd | Christiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | 426 | |
| 2008 | 1st | Christiano Ronaldo | Manchester United | 935 |
| 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 678 | |
| 3rd | Fernando Torres | Liverpool | 203 |
| 2009 | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 1073 |
| 2nd | Christiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 352 | |
| 3rd | Xavi | Barcelona | 196 |
Furthermore, a single award for the world’s best men’s player was conferred which later transformed into the FIFA Ballon d’Or in the year, 2010.
