The Best FIFA Men's Player

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The Best FIFA Men's Player
Presented byFIFA
Formerly calledFIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009)
FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015)
First awarded2016 (2016)
Current holderPoland Robert Lewandowski
(1st award)
Most awardsArgentina Lionel Messi (6 awards)[1]
Websitefifa.com

The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, to the world's best men's player since 2016.[2] The award was formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.[3]

History[]

In 2010, the FIFA World Player of the Year award combined with the Ballon d'Or to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.[4] FIFA presided over the FIFA Ballon d'Or after agreeing to pay £13million for the merge of the two major player awards with France Football. The six editions of the FIFA Ballon d'Or were dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of their ongoing rivalry. In 2016, the Ballon d’Or again lost its ‘FIFA’ tag and would be voted for exclusively by journalists, while the FIFA World Player of the Year award — which ran from 1991 to 2009 — was resurrected, this time as The Best FIFA Men's Player.[citation needed]

According to reports, FIFA’s decision not to renew the deal was made in order to improve the organization’s strained relationship with England’s FA. This was based on the fact the annual ceremony was held in Zürich – and new FIFA president Gianni Infantino wanted to move the next one to London.[citation needed]

The trophy was designed by Croatian artist Ana Barbić Katičić.[5]

Criteria and voting[]

The selection criteria for the players of the year are sporting performance, as well as general conduct on and off the pitch.

The votes are decided by media representatives, national team coaches, and national team captains. In October 2016, it was announced that the general public would also be allowed to vote. Each group has 25% of the overall vote.[6]

Winners[]

Year Rank Player Team Votes
2016 1st Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Spain Real Madrid 34.54%
2nd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 26.42%
3rd France Antoine Griezmann Spain Atlético Madrid 7.53%
2017 1st Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Spain Real Madrid 43.16%
2nd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 19.25%
3rd Brazil Neymar[note 1] France Paris Saint-Germain 6.97%
2018 1st Croatia Luka Modrić Spain Real Madrid 29.05%
2nd Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo[note 2] Italy Juventus 19.08%
3rd Egypt Mohamed Salah England Liverpool 11.23%
2019 1st Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 46
2nd Netherlands Virgil van Dijk England Liverpool 38
3rd Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Italy Juventus 36
2020 1st Poland Robert Lewandowski Germany Bayern Munich 52
2nd Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo Italy Juventus 38
3rd Argentina Lionel Messi Spain Barcelona 35

Wins by player[]

Player Winner Second place Third place
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 2 (2016, 2017) 2 (2018, 2020) 1 (2019)
Argentina Lionel Messi 1 (2019) 2 (2016, 2017) 1 (2020)
Croatia Luka Modrić 1 (2018)
Poland Robert Lewandowski 1 (2020)

Wins by country[]

Country Players Total
 Portugal 1 2
 Argentina 1 1
 Croatia 1 1
 Poland 1 1

Wins by club[]

Club Players Total
Spain Real Madrid 2 3
Spain Barcelona 1 1
Germany Bayern Munich 1 1

Most FIFA Awards[]

Player of the Year[]

Player FIFA World Player
of the Year

(1991–2009)
FIFA Ballon d'Or
(2010–2015)
The Best
FIFA Men's Player
(2016–current)
Total
Argentina Lionel Messi 1 4 1 6
Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo 1 2 2 5
Brazil Ronaldo 3 3
France Zinédine Zidane 3 3
Brazil Ronaldinho 2 2
Germany Lothar Matthäus 1 1
Netherlands Marco van Basten 1 1
Italy Roberto Baggio 1 1
Brazil Romário 1 1
Liberia George Weah 1 1
Brazil Rivaldo 1 1
Portugal Luís Figo 1 1
Italy Fabio Cannavaro 1 1
Brazil Kaká 1 1
Croatia Luka Modrić 1 1
Poland Robert Lewandowski 1 1

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Neymar was signed by Paris Saint-Germain from Barcelona midway through 2017.
  2. ^ Cristiano Ronaldo was signed by Juventus from Real Madrid midway through 2018.

References[]

  1. ^ FIFA.com [@FIFAcom] (23 September 2020). "