Lionel Messi has been crowned winner of the FIFA Men’s Player award, beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Van Dijk to the award in a colorful ceremony held in Milan.
The 2019 edition of the FIFA Football Awards was held on Monday, September 23, at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
Messi, Ronaldo and van Dijk headlined the awards, with the trio battling it out for the prestigious top prize in the men’s category.
The three had also made the shortlist for the the Uefa player of the year award, with Van Dijk pipping Messi and Ronaldo to the award.
Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona and Argentina poses with the The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award and The FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 Award trophies. Photo: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images
However, Messi emerged winner in Milan beating van Dijk who was the bookies’ slight favourite owing to his stunning season for Barcelona that saw him rack up half a century of goals.
The Argentine talisman also made the FIFPro Men’s World XI, that also included Alisson Becker, Ronaldo, Modric, Hazard and Mbappe.
Liverpool were arguably the biggest winners at the awards following their 2018/19 Champions League heroics that saw them lift the coveted European title after seeing off Tottenham in the finals played in Madrid.
Jurgen Klopp beat Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino to win the Best FIFA Men’s Coach, with Alisson Becker beating off competition from Ederson and Marc-Andre ter Stegen to claim the Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper award.
Below is a list of all the nominees and winners at the awards:
The Best FIFA Men’s Player:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal/Juventus
Lionel Messi, Argentina/Barcelona – winner
Virgil van Dijk, Netherlands/Liverpool
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper:
Alisson Becker, Brazil/Liverpool – winner
Ederson, Brazil/Manchester City
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Germany/Barcelona
The Best FIFA Women’s Player:
Lucy Bronze, England/Olympique Lyonnais Feminin
Alex Morgan, USA/Orlando Pride
Megan Rapinoe, USA/Reign FC – winner
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach:
Jill Ellis, USA national team – winner
Phil Neville, England national team
Sarina Wiegman, Netherlands
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper
Christiane Endler, Chile/Paris Saint-Germain
Hedvig Lindahl, Sweden/Chelsea/VfL Wolfsburg
Sari van Veenendaal, Netherlands/Arsenal/Atlético Madrid – winner
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach:
Pep Guardiola, Spain/Manchester City
Jurgen Klopp, Germany/Liverpool – winner
Mauricio Pochettino, Argentina/Tottenham Hotspur
FIFA Puskas Award:
Lionel Messi (Argentina): Real Betis v. FC Barcelona (La Liga, 17 March 2019)
Juan Fernando Quintero (Colombia): River Plate v. Racing Club (Superliga Argentina, 10 February 2019)
Daniel Zsori (Hungary): Debrecen FC v Ferencvaros TC (Hungarian First Division, 16 February 2019) – winner
