The 1998 FIFA World Player of the Year award was won by Zinedine Zidane. The ceremony was held at the Teatro Nacional de Catalunya, in Barcelona on February 1, 1999. 132 national team coaches, based on the current FIFA Men's World Ranking were chosen to vote. It was organised by European Sports Media, Adidas, FIFA and the Spanish newspaper Don Balon.
| Rank | Player | Points | Club(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  Zinedine Zidane | 518 |  Juventus |
| 2. |  Ronaldo | 164 | Internazionale |
| 3. |  Davor Šuker | 108 |  Real Madrid |
| 4. |  Michael Owen | 43 | Liverpool |
| 5. |  Gabriel Batistuta | 40 | Fiorentina |
| 6. | Rivaldo | 37 | Barcelona |
| 7. |  Dennis Bergkamp | 33 | Arsenal |
| 8. | Edgar Davids | 26 | Juventus |
| 9. | Marcel Desailly | 23 | Milan Chelsea |
| 10. | Lilian Thuram | 14 | Parma |
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, commonly known as Ronaldo or Ronaldo Nazário, is a Brazilian business owner and president of La Liga club Real Valladolid, owner of Brasileiro Série A club Cruzeiro, and a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed O Fenômeno and R9, he is widely considered one of the greatest players of all time. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo has been an influence for a generation of strikers that have followed. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning two Ballon d'Or awards.
Zinedine Yazid Zidane, popularly known as Zizou, is a French professional football manager and former player who played as an attacking midfielder. He most recently coached Spanish club Real Madrid and is one of the most successful coaches in the world. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Zidane was a playmaker renowned for his elegance, vision, passing, ball control, and technique. He received many individual accolades as a player, including being named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1998, 2000 and 2003, and winning the 1998 Ballon d'Or.
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The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.
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The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Brazil as of 2022. The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. The rankings were introduced in December 1992, and eight teams have held the top position, of which Brazil have spent the longest ranked first.
Xavier Hernández Creus, commonly known as Xavi, is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who is the manager of La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi was renowned for his passing, vision, ball retention, and positioning.
The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels, generally referred to as FIFPRO, is the worldwide representative organisation for 65,000 professional footballers. FIFPRO, with its global headquarters in Hoofddorp, Netherlands, is made up of 66 national players' associations. In addition, there are four candidate members. Lionel Messi have the most appearances in the FIFPRO World 11 with 16 appearances, whereas Cristiano Ronaldo has had 15 appearances occupying the second place.
Football|Ballon d'Or|the previous FIFA award (1991–2009)|FIFA World Player of the Year|the current FIFA award |The Best FIFA Men's Player}}
Hristo Stoichkov is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who is a football commentator for TUDN. A prolific forward, he is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and is regarded as the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. He was runner-up for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 1992 and 1994, and received the Ballon d'Or in 1994. In 2004, Stoichkov was named by Pelé in the FIFA 100 list of the world's greatest living players.
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The Best FIFA Football Awards is a football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA.
The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. The award was formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.
The Best FIFA Women's Player is a football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. From 2001 to 2015, the award was known as the FIFA Women's World Player of the Year.
