The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. The award was formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Footballs Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.
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. 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.
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.
The trophy was designed by Croatian artist Ana Barbić Katičić.
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.
Winners +YearRankPlayerTeamVotes2016 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid34.54% 2nd Lionel Messi Barcelona26.42% 3rd Antoine Griezmann Atlético Madrid7.53%2017 1st Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid43.16% 2nd Lionel Messi Barcelona19.25% 3rd Neymar Paris Saint-Germain6.97%2018 1st Luka Modrić Real Madrid29.05% 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus19.08% 3rd Mohamed Salah Liverpool11.23%2019 1st Lionel Messi Barcelona46 2nd Virgil van Dijk Liverpool38 3rd Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus362020 1st Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich52 2nd Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus38 3rd Lionel Messi Barcelona352021 1st Robert Lewandowski Bayern Munich48 2nd Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain44 3rd Mohamed Salah Liverpool392022 1st Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain52 2nd Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain44 3rd Karim Benzema Real Madrid342023 1st Lionel Messi Inter Miami48 2nd Erling Haaland Manchester City48 3rd Kylian Mbappé Paris Saint-Germain352024 1st Vinícius Júnior Real Madrid48 2nd Rodri Manchester City43 3rd Jude Bellingham Real Madrid372025 1st Ousmane Dembélé Paris Saint-Germain50 2nd Lamine Yamal Barcelona39 3rd Kylian Mbappé Real Madrid35
Wins by player Player Winner Runner-up Third place Lionel Messi3 (2019, 2022, 2023) 3 (2016, 2017, 2021)1 (2020))2 (2018, 2020)1 (2019)2 (2020, 2021) — — Luka Modrić1 (2018) — — Vinícius Júnior1 (2024) — — Ousmane Dembélé1 (2025) — — Kylian Mbappé —1 (2022)2 (2023, 2025) Virgil van Dijk —1 (2019) — Erling Haaland —1 (2023) — Rodri —1 (2024) — Lamine Yamal —1 (2025) — Mohamed Salah — —2 (2018, 2021) Antoine Griezmann — —1 (2016) Neymar — —1 (2017) Karim Benzema — —1 (2022) Jude Bellingham — —1 (2024)
Wins by country Country Players Total 1 3 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1
Wins by club Club Players Total Real Madrid 3 4 Paris Saint Germain 2 2 Bayern Munich 1 2 Barcelona 1 1 Inter Miami 1 1
FIFA Player of the Year (including predecessors) PlayersFIFA World Playerof the Year(1991–2009)FIFA Ballon d'Or(2010–2015)The BestFIFA Men's Player(2016–present)Total Lionel Messi1438 Cristiano Ronaldo1225 Ronaldo3——3 Zinedine Zidane3——3 Ronaldinho2——2 Robert Lewandowski——22 Lothar Matthäus1——1 Marco van Basten1——1 Roberto Baggio1——1 Romário1——1 George Weah1——1 Rivaldo1——1 Luís Figo1——1 Fabio Cannavaro1——1 Kaká1——1 Luka Modrić——11 Vinícius Júnior——11 Ousmane Dembélé——11
See also The Best FIFA Football Awards The Best FIFA Women's Player FIFA World Player of the Year FIFA Ballon d'Or Ballon d'Or
Notes
References
External links Official Facebook website Top FIFA Football Players 2022