TheRey de América ("King of America"), often referred to as theSouth American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar year. The award was conceived by Venezuelan newspaperEl Mundo, which awarded it from 1971 to 1992. Uruguayan newspaperEl País took over from 1986 onwards, and their award was considered official, butEl Mundo continued their award until 1992.[1]
Originally for theEl Mundo award, journalists could vote for any South American and Central American players at any club around the world.[2] From 1986 theEl País award became official and only South American players playing in South America were eligible. From 1998, eligibility extended to South Americans playing in Mexico due to the participation of Mexican clubs in theCopa Libertadores.
From 1980 to 1983 the Argentinian newspaperEl Gráfico also chose theirEl Futbolista De América ("Footballer of the Americas"). Any South American player playing the Americas at any point in the year was eligible.[3]
The inaugural winner wasTostão ofCruzeiro. Three players have won the award three times each:Elías Figueroa ofInternacional,Zico ofFlamengo, andCarlos Tevez ofBoca Juniors andCorinthians; Figueroa and Tevez did so in consecutive years. As of 2024, Brazilian players have won the most awards (18), with Argentinian players a close second with 16 wins. Argentine clubRiver Plate have had the most winners with nine awards. The most recent recipient of the award isGiorgian de Arrascaeta, playing forFlamengo in 2025.
The award was officially awarded by newspaperEl Mundo to the best South American footballer between 1971 and 1985.El Mundo continued their award until 1992, but it may not considered official.[4][5] it was open to any South American player, no matter where they play.[6]
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986[22] | 1st |  Diego Maradona |  Napoli | – |
| 2nd |  Careca | São Paulo | – | |
| 3rd |  Hugo Sánchez |  Real Madrid | – | |
| 1987[23] | 1st |  Carlos Valderrama | Deportivo Cali | – |
| 2nd |  Roberto Cabañas | América Cali | – | |
| 3rd |  Antonio Alzamendi | River Plate | – | |
| 1988[24] | 1st | Rubén Paz | Racing Club | – |
| 2nd | Hugo de León | Nacional | – | |
| 3rd | Geovani Silva | Vasco da Gama | – | |
| Cláudio Taffarel | Internacional | – | ||
| 1989[25] | 1st | Diego Maradona | Napoli | – |
| 2nd | Ruben Sosa | S.S. Lazio | – | |
| 3rd | Bebeto | Vasco da Gama | – | |
| 1990[26] | 1st | Diego Maradona | Napoli | – |
| 2nd | Claudio Caniggia | Atalanta | – | |
| 3rd | René Higuita | Atlético Nacional | – | |
| 1991[27] | 1st | Gabriel Batistuta | Fiorentina | – |
| 2nd | Claudio Caniggia | Atalanta | – | |
| 3rd |  Iván Zamorano | Sevilla | – | |
| 1992[28] | 1st | Diego Maradona | Sevilla | 32 |
| 2nd | Bebeto | Deportivo La Coruña | 31 | |
| 3rd | Raí | São Paulo | 25 | |
From 1980 to 1983El Gráfico gave out their Footballer of the Americas award.[29]
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 1st | Diego Maradona | Argentinos Juniors | 485 |
| 2nd | Zico | Flamengo | 292 | |
| 3rd | Ubaldo Fillol | Argentinos Juniors | 120 | |
| 1981 | 1st | Diego Maradona | Boca Juniors | 572 |
| 2nd | Zico | Flamengo | 524 | |
| 3rd |  Julio César Uribe | Sporting Cristal | 131 | |
| 1982 | 1st | Zico | Flamengo | 381 |
| 2nd | Diego Maradona | Barcelona | 296 | |
| 3rd | Fernando Morena | Peñarol | 214 | |
| 1983 | 1st | Sócrates | Corinthians | 286 |
| 2nd | Ubaldo Fillol | Argentinos Juniors | 251 | |
| 3rd | Rodolfo Rodríguez | Nacional | 144 | |
From 1986, the South American Footballer of the Year was named byEl País.[30] Only South American players of South American clubs are eligible.[31]
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| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
 Zico | 3 (1977, 1981, 1982) | 2 (1976, 1980) | |
| Tevez | 3 (2003, 2004, 2005) | 1 (2015) | — |
| Figueroa | 3 (1974, 1975, 1976) | — | 1 (1977) |
| Maradona | 2 (1979, 1980) | 2 (1981, 1995) | 1 (1982) |
| Francescoli | 2 (1984, 1995) | 2 (1985, 1996) | — |
| Neymar | 2 (2011, 2012) | 1 (2013) | 1 (2010) |
| Verón | 2 (2008, 2009) | 1 (2010) | — |
| Valderrama | 2 (1987, 1993) | — | 1 (1996) |
| Riquelme | 1 (2001) | 2 (2000, 2008) | 1 (1999) |
 Chilavert | 1 (1996) | 1 (1994) | 2 (1997, 1998) |
| Romero | 1 (1985) | 1 (1979) | 1 (1986) |
| de Arrascaeta | 1 (2025) | 1 (2022) | 1 (2019) |
| Pelé | 1 (1973) | 1 (1972) | — |
| Cardozo | 1 (2002) | 1 (2003) | — |
| Sanchez | 1 (2015) | 1 (2014) | — |
| Gabriel | 1 (2019) | 1 (2021) | — |
| Cafu | 1 (1994) | — | 1 (1993) |
| Palermo | 1 (1998) | — | 1 (2000) |
| Romario | 1 (2000) | — | 1 (2001) |
| Cabañas | 1 (2007) | — | 1 (2008) |
| Álvarez | 1 (2021) | — | 1 (2022) |
| Tostão | 1 (1971) | — | — |
| Cubillas | 1 (1972) | — | — |
| Kempes | 1 (1978) | — | — |
| Sócrates | 1 (1983) | — | — |
| Alzamendi | 1 (1986) | — | — |
| Paz | 1 (1988) | — | — |
| Bebeto | 1 (1989) | — | — |
 Amarilla | 1 (1990) | — | — |
| Ruggeri | 1 (1991) | — | — |
| Raí | 1 (1992) | — | — |
| Salas | 1 (1997) | — | — |
| Saviola | 1 (1999) | — | — |
| Fernández | 1 (2006) | — | — |
| D'Alessandro | 1 (2010) | — | — |
| Ronaldinho | 1 (2013) | — | — |
| Gutiérrez | 1 (2014) | — | — |
| Borja | 1 (2016) | — | — |
| Luan | 1 (2017) | — | — |
| Martínez | 1 (2018) | — | — |
| Marinho | 1 (2020) | — | — |
| Pedro | 1 (2022) | — | — |
| Cano | 1 (2023) | — | — |
| Luiz Henrique | 1 (2024) | — | — |
| Country | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 15 | 18 |
| Argentina | 12 | 16 |
| Paraguay | 5 | 5 |
| Uruguay | 5 | 5 |
| Chile | 3 | 5 |
| Colombia | 3 | 4 |
| Peru | 1 | 1 |
| Club | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| River Plate | 8 | 9 |
| Flamengo | 4 | 6 |
| Boca Juniors | 3 | 4 |
| Santos | 3 | 3 |
| Internacional | 2 | 4 |
| São Paulo | 2 | 2 |
| Vasco da Gama | 2 | 2 |
| Corinthians | 2 | 2 |
| Vélez Sársfield | 2 | 2 |
| Fluminense | 2 | 2 |
| Argentinos Juniors | 1 | 2 |
| Estudiantes | 1 | 2 |
| Alianza Lima | 1 | 1 |
| América | 1 | 1 |
| Atlético Mineiro | 1 | 1 |
| Atlético Nacional | 1 | 1 |
| Botafogo | 1 | 1 |
| Colo-Colo | 1 | 1 |
| Cruzeiro | 1 | 1 |
| Deportivo Cali | 1 | 1 |
| Grêmio | 1 | 1 |
| Junior | 1 | 1 |
| Olimpia | 1 | 1 |
| Racing | 1 | 1 |
| Toluca | 1 | 1 |
| Valencia | 1 | 1 |
From 2021, the South American Footballer of the Year was named byEl País, with the accolade being namedReina de América.
| Year | Rank | Player | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 1st | Tamires | Corinthians | 30 |
| 2nd | Catalina Usme | América de Cali | 29 | |
| 3rd | Gabi Zanotti | Corinthians | 20 | |
| 2022 | 1st | Linda Caicedo | Deportivo Cali | 76 |
| 2nd | Bia Zaneratto | Palmeiras | 21 | |
| 3rd | Yamila Rodríguez | Palmeiras | 20 | |
| 2023 | 1st | Priscila | Internacional | 34 |
| 2nd | Millene | Corinthians | 31 | |
| 3rd | Bia Zaneratto | Palmeiras | 23 | |
| 2024 | 1st | Gabi Zanotti | Corinthians | 34 |
| 2nd | Gabi Portilho | Corinthians | 31 | |
| 3rd | Vic Albuquerque | Corinthians | 23 | |
| Player | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gabi Zanotti | 2 (2024, 2025) | — | 1 (2021) |
| Tamires | 1 (2021) | — | — |
| Linda Caicedo | 1 (2022) | — | — |
| Priscila | 1 (2023) | — | — |
| Country | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | 3 | 4 |
| Colombia | 1 | 1 |
| Club | Players | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Corinthians | 2 | 3 |
| Deportivo Cali | 1 | 1 |
| Internacional | 1 | 1 |
Men's winners (Rey de América) | |
| El Mundo award | |
| El Gráfico award | |
| El País award |
|
Women's winners (Reina de América) | |
| El País award | |
