Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has been named the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the year, beating Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk and Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo. It was gathered that the player sealed when he led his club to yet another La Liga title, his 10th since breaking through with Barcelona.
He fired 51 goals across 50 appearances for the Catalan side, marking his 10th consecutive season with at least 40 finishes.
Messi also claimed the European Golden Shoe for the sixth time after netting 36 league goals.
He also registered 13 assists to lead La Liga.
The Argentinean star earned the award, previously the FIFA Ballon d’Or, for a record sixth time, breaking his tie atop the ranks with Ronaldo.
Recall that the player had previously won the award four consecutive times from 2009-12 before picking up his fifth in 2015.
The victory is Messi’s first recognition as "The Best Men’s Player" though, having previously been overshadowed by Real Madrid’s Champions League victories.
Recalled that Ronaldo had edged him to the award in 2016 and 2017 before last year’s winner, Luka Modric was recognized off the back of a Champions League title and a World Cup final appearance.
This time around, though, there was no stopping Messi, who was also named to the FIFA Men’s World XI alongside van Dijk, Ronaldo, Modric, Alisson, Marcelo, Matthijs de Ligt, Sergio Ramos, Eden Hazard, and Kylian Mbappe.
