Lionel Messi has been a familiar face at The Best awards, even when the recognitions didn’t always go his way. In 2019, he did receive the honor, marking a notable moment in his long trophy cabinet.
The split between FIFA and France Football, which once merged the Ballon d’Or with the FIFA Ballon d’Or, led to the creation of a separate prize, known as The Best. This development established a distinct hall of fame for the world’s top players outside of the Ballon d’Or framework.
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HISTORY OF MESSI WITH THE AWARD THE BEST
During the fourth edition of these awards, Lionel Messi, then an Argentinian star playing for Barcelona, was a regular presence at the ceremony celebrating the world’s best footballers. He ultimately retained the award, even though many observers viewed Virgil van Dijk as the favorite. Messi claimed his first and only Best award in his career at that event.
Messi, who had helped Barcelona win the 2018-19 season and reached the Champions League semi-finals, while also competing in the Copa del Rey under Ernesto Valverde, was one of three contenders to win The Best alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk.
That season, Messi tallied 54 goals in 58 appearances across his duties for both Barcelona and the Argentina national team, yet the trophy recognized by FIFA as the best player of the year in Europe eluded him.
At the inaugural ceremony in 2016, Messi, from Rosario, finished second, behind his principal rival Cristiano Ronaldo. With 26.4 percent of the vote, he trailed almost nine points behind the Portuguese winner, who claimed history’s first prize.
The following year, in 2017, Messi again settled for second place as Ronaldo expanded his lead, receiving 43.2 percent of the vote compared to the Argentine’s 19.02 percent, widening the gap from his closest competitor.
In the 2017-18 season, Messi did not even make The Best final shortlist. The final contingent consisted of Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Mohamed Salah of Liverpool, with Modric ultimately taking the prize.
In 2021, the trophy went to Robert Lewandowski, who delivered an outstanding scoring season for Bayern Munich, adding multiple titles to his tally.
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