El País King of European Soccer (alternative: El País European Player of the Year) was an annual football award given by Uruguayan newspaper El País to the best footballer in Europe.
It had been decided by several European sports experts, critics and journalists based on votes.
Any player from a European team was eligible, regardless their country of origin.
It was first awarded in 1991 with French Jean-Pierre Papin having been the inaugural winner.
Messi and Zinedine Zidane are the record winners of the award with four wins each.