Lahm retired from football at the end of the season two months ago, having won the Bundesliga yet again with Bayern Munich.

The award is run by German football magazine kicker, and votes come from the members of the Association of German Sports Journalists. Lahm won 242 votes, ahead of Real Madrid's Toni Kroos (192) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (120) of Borussia Dortmund.

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Lahm said: “It’s a real honour and I’m truly pleased with it. I think the journalists in the vote have watched me for my entire career.

“History shows that it is incredibly tough for a defender to be named Footballer of the Year because over the course of a year there is normally always a forward who steals the headlines up front.”

Lahm won the Champions League, eight Bundesligas and six DFB cups over his career with Bayern Munich.

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