Public award 2018

After his seasons at Arsenal and Galatasaray Istanbul, Lukas Podolski joined Vissel Kobe in 2017 and played straight into the hearts of Japanese fans. With his "Lukas Podolski Foundation" he wants to combat child poverty in particular and to offer disadvantaged children and young people a perspective.

Already in his early days Karius played in England for Manchester City. After his breakthrough at Mainz 05, he moved on to Liverpool FC, following the German coach Jürgen Klopp. Since this season, Karius is number 1 goalkeeper at Liverpool FC.

Per Mertesacker is one of the leaders at FC Arsenal and was named captain for the current season by Arsene Wenger despite his serious injury. The world champion is also supporting different social projects through his “Per-Mertesacker-Foundation”.

After more than 5 years and over 100 goals for Borussia Dortmund, in 2016 Gündogan joined Manchester City. Despite some injuries, Gundogan is considered one of the main pillars of Manchester City due to its fine technique and perfect ball handling.

During his time at Real Madrid, Sami Khedira already won one voting for the German Football Ambassador in 2013. Since 2015 the 29-year-old is playing for the Italian club Juventus Turin and is being recognized as one of team’s key performers.

It didn’t take long for Toni Kroos to enchant his new fans. Only a few months after joining Real Madrid he has become a vital part of the starting squad. The Spanish press describes him as a "German machine of wonderful accuracy and efficiency". The national team player is also supporting disadvantaged children through his “Toni-Kroos-Foundation”

Younes quickly became an indispensable player for Ajax Amsterdam due to his tremendous skills and speed. Also he is doing very well in the German national team. After he went through every youth team of the DFB, he was finally appointed in 2017 in the A-squad of the German national team. Off the field, he is committed to the youth campaign "iCHANCE - read better, write better!"

In the beginning of the season 2016, the 24-year-old Champions League Winner and Olympic Champion was transferred to Olympique Lyon. In 2016 Marozsán was given the honor of being captain of the national team.

In August 2016, Sané moved from FC Schalke 04 to Manchester City. Since then, he has become an integral part of Pep Guardiola's squad. Due to his excellent technique and his dribbling, he does not only thrill the fans in England and Germany.

After his successful season at AS Roma Antonio Rüdiger moved in 2017 to the English champions FC Chelsea. Due to his robust style of play, he is considered one of Chelsea's key figures in central defense. With the national team Rüdiger could win the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Starting May 2014, the 24-year-old moved to FC Barcelona. Since then he won two Spanish championships, 2 domestic league cups and a Champions League title. The German goalkeeper supports different projects of FC Barcelona Foundation as well as the initiative “Look at the Stars”. He is committed to underprivileged children and adolescents.