A country's awarding of their footballer of the year award ultimately says a lot about the state of the game within that nation. For example, knowing that Argentina are loaded with talent but that one man has managed to win this individual prize on 10 occasions speaks to his standing as one of the greatest of all time.
For other nations, a player sweeping the prize time after time shows that he’s single-handedly carrying that nation to new heights à la Gareth Bale. These are the players that’ve utterly dominated their country’s player of the year award in recent times.
Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 10 wins
No surprise here. Photo: @Squawka | Twitter
Between 2005 and 2016, Messi won the Olimpia de Plata al Mejor Futbolista, Footballer of the Year of Argentina, 10 times. In fact, he's only lost out to Angel Di Maria (2014) and Juan Sebastian Veron (2006).
Gylfi Sigurdsson (Iceland) — 4 consecutive wins
Sigurdsson is keeping the Swans afloat. Photo: @ITTC_football | Twitter
Gylfi Sigurdsson has been Iceland’s Footballer of the Year for four consecutive years (2012-15).
Gareth Bale (Wales) — 4 consecutive wins
The Welsh Dragon. Photo: @BBCSport | Twitter
Gareth Bale has been the Welsh Footballer of the Year for four consecutive years (2013-16).
Robert Lewandowski (Poland) — 5 consecutive wins
Euro 2016 was awful, but the guy's alright. Photo: @iMiaSanMia | Twitter
Robert Lewandowski has been Polish Footballer of the Year for five straight years (2011-15).
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Armenia) — 7 wins
Only Jose Mourinho doesn't appreciate this man. Photo: @TotallyMUFC | Twitter
Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been the Armenian Footballer of the Year for seven of the last eight years (2009-16).
David Alaba (Austria) — 6 consecutive wins
David Alaba is Total Football reborn. Photo: @FCBayernEN | Twitter
David Alaba has been the Austrian Footballer of the Year for six straight years (2011-16).
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden) — 11 wins
He needs no introduction. Photo: @premierleague | Twitter
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been Sweden’s Footballer of the Year 11 times, including 10 consecutive years (2007-16).
Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) — 8 wins
Another award for CR7. Photo: @AllFootballLive | Twitter
Cristiano Ronaldo has been the Portuguese Footballer of the Year for eight of the last 10 years. Only Simao Sabrosa (2010) and Pepe (2014) have defeated Ronaldo dating back to 2007.
Petr Cech (Czech Republic) — 7 wins
Keepers don't win individual awards, but Petr Cech does. Photo: @Bolanalytics | Twitter
Petr Cech has been the Czech Footballer of the Year seven of the last eight years (2008-15).
Luka Modric (Croatia) — 4 wins
Luka Modric is a wizard. Photo: @Coral | Twitter
Luka Modric has won the Croatian Footballer of the Year four times since 2007.