Argentine Footballer of the Year

The Footballer of the Year of Argentina (in Spanish: Olimpia de Plata al Mejor Futbolista, that literally translates to "Silver Olimpia to the Best Footballer) is a yearly award given by the Argentine Sports Journalists' Circle (Círculo de Periodistas Deportivos de la República Argentina) as one of the Olimpia Awards, the most important sports award in Argentina. The Olimpia is awarded in the sport of association football and, since 2008, is shared by the best player of the local league (who wins the Olimpia de Plata al Fútbol Local) and the best Argentine playing abroad (Olimpia de Plata al Fútbol del Exterior). Up to 2008, the award was not shared, and was either given to the best player of Argentine nationality of the season (regardless if he plays in the local league or abroad), or to the best foreign footballer of the local league. It is unclear when Argentine footballers playing abroad and expatriate players in the country started being eligible. Mario Kempes in 1978 was the first Argentine to receive the award while playing abroad. Kempes was playing in the Spanish league for Valencia CF at the time, and had been a key player in the Argentina national team World Cup winning campaign of that year. On the other hand, Uruguayan Enzo Francescoli was the first foreign player to receive the award (in 1985, playing for River Plate). Lionel Messi is the award's all time record holder with sixteen wins, seven of which were in a row. He is also the current (2023) holder of the award.

All players and clubs are Argentine, unless otherwise noted. Ed. (Edition number) Year Player Club Achievement / Notes (Achievement for what he was awarded plus additional notes) 1 1970 Héctor Yazalde Independiente 2 1971 José Pastoriza Independiente 3 1972 Ángel Bargas Chacarita Juniors 4 1973 Miguel Brindisi Huracán 5 1974 Miguel Raimondo Independiente 6 1975 Héctor Scotta San Lorenzo 7 1976 Daniel Passarella River Plate 8 1977 Ubaldo Fillol River Plate 9 1978 Mario Kempes Valencia 10 1979 Diego Maradona Argentinos Juniors 11 1980 Diego Maradona Argentinos Juniors 12 1981 Diego Maradona Boca Juniors 13 1982 Hugo Gatti Boca Juniors 14 1983 Ricardo Bochini Independiente 15 1984 Alberto Márcico Ferro Carril Oeste 16 1985 Enzo Francescoli River Plate 17 1986 Diego Maradona Napoli 18 1987 Néstor Fabbri Racing Club 19 1988 Rubén Paz Racing Club 20 1989 Carlos Alfaro Moreno Independiente 21 1990 Sergio Goycochea Millonarios 22 1991 Oscar Ruggeri Vélez Sarsfield 23 1992 Luis Islas Independiente 24 1993 Ramón Medina Bello River Plate 25 1994 Carlos Navarro Montoya Boca Juniors 26 1995 Enzo Francescoli River Plate 27 1996 José Luis Chilavert Vélez Sarsfield 28 1997 Marcelo Salas River Plate 29 1998 Gabriel Batistuta Fiorentina 30 1999 Javier Saviola River Plate 31 2000 Román Riquelme Boca Juniors 32 2001 Román Riquelme Boca Juniors 33 2002 Gabriel Milito Independiente 34 2003 Carlos Tevez Boca Juniors 35 2004 Carlos Tevez Boca Juniors 36 2005 Lionel Messi Barcelona 37 2006 Juan S. Verón Estudiantes LP 38 2007 Lionel Messi Barcelona 39 2008 Román Riquelme Boca Juniors Lionel Messi Barcelona 40 2009 Juan S. Verón Estudiantes LP Lionel Messi Barcelona 41 2010 Juan Manuel Martínez Vélez Sársfield Lionel Messi Barcelona 42 2011 Román Riquelme Boca Juniors Lionel Messi Barcelona 43 2012 Lisandro López Arsenal Lionel Messi Barcelona 44 2013 Maxi Rodríguez Newell's Old Boys Lionel Messi Barcelona 45 2014 Lucas Pratto Vélez Sarsfield Ángel Di María Manchester United 46 2015 Marco Ruben Rosario Central Lionel Messi Barcelona 47 2016 Fernando Belluschi San Lorenzo Lionel Messi Barcelona 48 2017 Darío Benedetto Boca Juniors Lionel Messi Barcelona 49 2018 Pity Martínez River Plate 50 2019 Lionel Messi Barcelona 51 2020 Lionel Messi Barcelona 52 2021 Lionel Messi Paris Saint Germain 53 2022 Lionel Messi Paris Saint Germain 54 2023 Lionel Messi Inter Miami