West Ham’s Tomáš Souček wins Golden Ball for fourth time

West Ham midfielder Tomáš Souček has been awarded the Golden Ball for Czech football player of the year for the fourth time. The 29-year-old Czech national team captain beat Ladislav Krejčí, who recently signed a contract with Spanish club Girona, by 280 points. Souček's West Ham teammate, right-back Vladimír Coufal, came third in this year’s competition.

Souček previously clinched the prize in 2020, 2021 and 2023. While last year he won by just a single point ahead of Fiorentina midfielder Antonín Barák, this time he had a significant lead.

The Golden Ball is awarded each year to the best Czech footballer as decided by a poll of the country’s sports journalists. The results of the poll, now in its 28th year, were announced on Friday in Prague.