The modern day legend that is Lionel Messi this week scooped his FOURTH consecutive World Footballer of the Year award making him the most successful recipient of the award of all time. An amazing year for the Argentinian superstar included a record 91 goals in the calendar year for his club side, Barcelona.
In our continuing series of "Where are they now?" we look at previous winners over the last 30 years to see what they are up to (list only includes players who have retired)
1983 / 1984 / 1985: Michel Platini - Retired from playing in 1987 and is now the outspoken President of UEFA mainly due to his fierce opposition to goal-line technology and capping salaries
1986: Igor Belanov - Retired at the age of 37 in 1997. Unfortunately not known what he is currently up to.
1987: Ruud Gullit - Full biography can be viewed at www.premierleagueheroes.co.uk/ruudgullit
1988 / 1989 / 1992: Marco Van Basten - Regarded as one of the greatest forwards of all time, Van Basten's career was cruelly cut short by injury in his late twenties. After stating that he would never go into management Van Basten has managed the Dutch National Team as well as Ajax. He is currently manager of Heerenveen.
1990: Lothar Matthaus - The Bayern Munich legend finished his playing career in 2000 and started his managerial career in 2001 with Austrian team SK Rapid Wien. Unfortunately his managerial career hasn't reflected his playing success as he is currently without a club after getting the sack from the Bulgarian National Team - his 7th team in 11 years.
1991: Jean-Pierre Papin - Another player who went into management upon retirement, Papin left his last club Chateauroux in 2010
1993: Roberto Baggio - The "Divine Ponytail", called time on his career in 2004 whilst at Brescia. Although he has never gone into management he has attained the Category 1 UEFA Pro Coaching License. At the time of writing he is the President of the Technical Sector of the Italian Football Federation
1994: Hristo Stoichkov - After finishing his career in the USA in 2004, Stoichkov went onto manage the Bulgarian National Team for 3 years. After managerial spells in Spain and South Africa he went back to Bulgaria where he currently manages Litex Lovech
1995: George Weah - The only African to have won the award, Weah retired from football in 2003 whilst playing in Qatar. Upon retirement he entered the world of politics in Liberia and ran unsuccessfully for President in 2005 and Vice President in 2011.
1996: Matthias Sammer - After being forced to retire in 1999 at the age of 32, Sammer went into management with Borussia Dortmund whom he managed for 4 years winning the Bundesliga in 2002. He went onto manage VFB Stuttgart for one season and joined the German Football Association as Technical Director in 2006. He is now Sporting Director at Bayern Munich
1997 / 2002: Ronaldo - After retiring in 2011 whilst playing in Brazil for Corinthians due to a succession of injuries, Ronaldo has kept a relatively low profile and is not currently involved in any aspect of the game.
1998: Zinedine Zidane - One of the greatest players of the 1990's and 2000's, Zidane retired from playing in 2006 after a 5 year spell at Real Madrid. He is still at Madrid in the capacity of Sporting Director
2000: Luis Figo - After playing for 3 of the best clubs in the world (Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Barcelona), Figo retired from playing in 2009. He still has an affiliation with Inter Milan and currently acts as and ambassador for the club
2003: Pavel Nedved - After spending 13 years in Italy with Lazio and Juventus, Nedved retired from playing in 2009. Upon retirement he was invited onto the Juventus Board of Directors - a seat he still holds today.
2004: Andrei Shevchenko - Shevchenko retired in 2012 to pursue a career in Ukrainian Politics - unfortunately his party was unsuccessful in gaining parlimentary representation in the 2012 election
2006: Fabio Cannavaro - One of the greatest defenders of his generation, Cannavaro retired from playing in 2011 whilst playing for Dubai club Al-Ahli. He is now Global Brand Ambassador and Technical Consultant for the same club
For information on past English Premier League Players please visit www.premierleagueheroes.co.uk
For Official Premier League Football Gifts please visit www.premierleaguegiftshop.co.uk
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