This is one of the annual awards presented by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) since 2006. In this year’s vote, Jude Bellingham won first place with an overwhelming score of 133 points, far surpassing the second-placed player, Kevin De Bruyne (96 points).

IFFHS relies on many criteria to evaluate the best playmaker such as goals, assists, passes leading to goals, vision, technique and versatility in playing style…

In the 2023/24 season, Bellingham played very prominently in the Real Madrid squad. He scored a total of 23 goals and contributed 13 assists in all competitions, with the Vultures winning 2 major titles, La Liga and the Champions League. Although he could not win the Golden Ball and The Best, the English midfielder finished with a fairly good position in this race.

De Bruyne, who has won the best playmaker award three times, only finished second with 96 points. Toni Kroos, who retired after the 2023-24 season, finished third according to the IFFHS rankings. In addition, the top 10 rankings also include many other notable names such as Musiala, Messi, Olmo, Wirtz, James Rodriguez, Calhanoglu and Odegaard.

To date, Lionel Messi has dominated the IFFHS’s “Best Playmaker of the Year” award with 5 times. Next are Xavi (4 times), Kevin De Bruyne (3 times) and Andres Iniesta (2 times).

This is the first time Jude Bellingham has won this award. Previously, 3 players had won the IFFHS award once: Zinedine Zidane (2006), Toni Kroos (2014) and Luka Modric (2018).