Lionel Messi beat Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to be crowned FIFA's Best Men's Player but there was success for Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp and Alisson Becker.
Lionel Messi has been named men's player of the year at the Best FIFA awards in Milan, beating Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk and Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Barcelona legend has now won FIFA's top gong for a record sixth time in his career, taking him one clear of his great rival Ronaldo.
β½οΈπLionel Messi wins FIFA's top award for a record sixth time!
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
π 2019
π 2015
π 2012
π 2011
π 2010
π 2009
π#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards #Goat pic.twitter.com/DcUe7BUxsT
Messi may have felt disappointed with 'just' winning a 10th La Liga crown during the 2018-19 season after missing out on the Champions League with Barca and the Copa America with Argentina but he did score a staggering 51 goals for his club.
Many of those were fantastic but his most memorable will go down as his free kick against Liverpool in the Champions League and his Puskas award-nominated hat-trick goal against Real Betis.
π Why Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Men's Player
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
ππth La Liga title
5β£1β£ goals to take #FCB tally to 603!
5β£0β£+ Goals in a season for a SIXTH time
3β£5β£+ La Liga goals in a season for a fifth time
π Top scorer in Spain for a sixth time
π And thispic.twitter.com/aPunAcC4UI
π6β£0β£0β£ Lionel Messi's 600th goal from this incredible angle...#FCB #BARLIV pic.twitter.com/v3fcWr0sx7
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) May 1, 2019
Messi was expected to land the Puskas award for the first time in his career but despite a seventh nomination in its 11-year history, he missed out to Hungary's Daniel Zsori (more details here).
Van Dijk had been favourite to land the big award having pipped both superstars to the UEFA player of the year award last month, although he is still favourite for December's Ballon d'Or at 4/11 with Sky Bet (Messi 2/1, Ronaldo 20/1).
π² Virgil van Dijk was 1/4 favourite to win the Ballon d'Or before tonight's FIFA awards.
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
π€ Looking at these results, where's your money now for the 'big one'.
Virgil van Dijk - 4/11
Lionel Messi - 2/1
Cristiano Ronaldo - 20/1
π³οΈ VOTE π#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards #LFC
Why Virgil van Dijk may feel hard done by...
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
π Champions League winner
π₯ Nations League runner-up
π₯ Premier League runner-up
ποΈ 59 games for club & country
πͺ 29 clean sheets, 40 goals conceded
β½οΈ Nine goals (Six for #LFC)
π And vision like this...pic.twitter.com/E64Z2hLqxL
Earlier Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has been named men's coach of the year at the Best FIFA awards in Milan, while Alisson Becker has scooped the goalkeeper prize.
Klopp guided his side to Champions League glory last season, while the Reds narrowly missed out on the Premier League title, being pipped by Manchester City.
The German claimed the award ahead of Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, whose team Liverpool defeated in the Champions League final, and City's Pep Guardiola.
Klopp said at the ceremony at Milan's Teatro alla Scala: "Mauricio - we won that game, that's why I'm here, not you. That's how football is, but we all know what an incredible job you did, what an incredible job Pep did, what so many coaches out there did.
"I have to say thank you to my outstanding club Liverpool FC, to the owners, I have to say they gave me an incredible team, and I have to thank my team, because as a coach you only can be as good as your team is.
"I'm really proud of being the manager of such an incredible bunch of players."
Klopp also announced he had signed up to the Common Goal movement, in which members donate one per cent of their salary to a charity which funds organisations around the world that use football to tackle social issues.
He said: "I'm really proud and happy that I can announce that from today on I am a member of the Common Goal family."
Having then received a round of applause, Klopp said: "A few people obviously know it - if not, Google it. It's a great thing."
Liverpool's Alisson Becker won the men's goalkeeper award, beating Manchester City counterpart Ederson and Barcelona's Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
As well as helping his club win the Champions League last season and claiming the Premier League's Golden Glove with 21 clean sheets in 38 matches, Alisson was also part of the Brazil side that won the Copa America over the summer.
π𧀠Liverpool's Alisson Becker wins the FIFA Best Men's Goalkeeper award!
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
π Champions League
π Copa America
ποΈ 59 games for #LFC & Brazil
πͺ 33 clean sheets, 32 goals conceded#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards #LFC pic.twitter.com/r9J047EQmS
To the bemusement of many fans who have not always associated Leeds or Marcelo Bielsa with fair play, the veteran Argentinian and his players were awarded the Fair Play Award for allowing Aston Villa to score against them in April.
Angry scenes broke out after Mateusz Klich scored for Leeds while Villa's Jonathan Kodjia lay injured on the field. Bielsa insisted Leeds, despite the attempts of former defender Pontus Jansson to stop them, allow Villa to score immediately from the kick-off.
βͺοΈπ Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa have won the FIFA Fair Play award for letting Aston Villa score against them after this incident last season... #TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards #LUFC pic.twitter.com/Pt6RomBLrr
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
The women's Best player award went to US forward Megan Rapinoe, who was joint-top scorer and won the Golden Ball for best player at the World Cup.
Rapinoe took the award on Monday ahead of international team-mate Alex Morgan, who matched her in scoring six times during the summer's tournament in France, and England's Lucy Bronze, who was the Silver Ball winner at the World Cup.
During her speech, the 34-year-old mentioned various issues within the game, including racism, homophobia and equal pay, and said she had been inspired by England and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling.
Rapinoe said: "I was going to say some of the stories that have inspired me most this year - Raheem Sterling and (Napoli defender Kalidou) Koulibaly, their incredible performances on the field, but the way that they have taken on the disgusting racism that they have to face, this year but probably for their whole lives.
"I feel like if we really want to have meaningful change, what I think is most inspiring would be if everybody other than Raheem Sterling and Koulibaly, if they were as outraged about racism as they were.
π FIFA Best Women's Player
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
π World Cup
π World Cup Golden Ball
π World Cup Golden Boot
π What a season for Megan Rapinoe!#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/DYxtlaMdXC
"If everybody was as outraged about homophobia as the LGBTQ players, if everybody was as outraged about equal pay or the lack thereof, or the lack of investment in the women's game, other than just women, that would be the most inspiring thing to me.
"I feel like that's my ask of everybody. We have such an incredible opportunity, being professional football players. We have incredible platforms. I ask everyone here - lend your platform to other people, lift other people up, share your success.
"We have a unique opportunity in football to use this beautiful game to actually change the world for better. I hope you take that to heart, and just do something, do anything. We have incredible power in this room."
Outgoing United States boss Jill Ellis took the women's coach award ahead of England's Phil Neville.
Ellis became the first coach in history to win two Women's World Cups over the summer, having also overseen the US triumph in 2015.
Her side beat Neville's Lionesses in the semi-finals and Holland, whose boss Sarina Wiegman was also on the shortlist, in the final.
Messi was controversially omitted from the shortlist for the first time last year but is back after scoring 51 goals, including a brilliant free-kick in the Champions League semi-final first leg for Barcelona against Liverpool.
Two Champions League finals, one winner's medal and a Premier League near miss in 18 months emphasise the effect Virgil Van Dijk has had on Liverpool. A commanding presence and calm leader on the pitch, he was recognised by being named UEFA player of the year in August.
Portuguese superstar Ronaldo won Serie A in his first season with Juventus. He was the inaugural winner of the award in its current guise in 2016 and is now a four-time finalist.
βΉοΈ Full breakdown of voting results here: https://t.co/k4PksekZaJ#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/cymNNO4lft
β #TheBest π (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
π€ So how did Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Virgil van Dijk vote?
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
Messi's top three
π₯ Mane
π₯ Ronaldo
π₯ De Jong
Ronaldo's top three (π)
π₯ De Ligt
π₯ De Jong
π₯ Mbappe
Van Dijk's top three
π₯ Messi
π₯ Salah
π₯ Mane#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards #LFC #FCB pic.twitter.com/rEyc1xA4JY
USA's Megan Rapinoe became the poster girl for the Women's World Cup as much for her forthright opinions as her play on the pitch as the USA clinched victory. She was also the tournament's Golden Boot winner with six goals.
Morgan scored five goals in the USA's opening game against Thailand to equal the World Cup single-game record set in 1991. She also finished the tournament with six goals, losing out to Rapinoe on a fewest minutes tie-breaker.
Lucy Bronze was a standout performer for England's Lionesses on their run to the World Cup semi-finals and was recently named UEFA player of the year.
π FIFA Best Women's Player
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
π World Cup
π World Cup Golden Ball
π World Cup Golden Boot
π What a season for Megan Rapinoe!#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/DYxtlaMdXC
ππ΄ Jurgen Klopp is crowned FIFA's Best Football Coach after leading Liverpool to the Champions League! #LFC #TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/aQ9I8TRGCD
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
After missing out the previous year Jurgen Klopp guided Liverpool to Champions League victory in Madrid and also pushed City all the way in a thrilling title race.
Pep Guardiola secured back-to-back Premier League titles and completed a domestic treble in 2019 with his side playing scintillating football. However, he came up short in the Champions League having only reached the quarter-finals.
Mauricio Pochettino completes a Premier League clean sweep in this category after leading Tottenham to their first Champions League final, beating Borussia Dortmund, City and Ajax after coming through a tough group.
Alisson Becker won the Premier League's Golden Glove with 21 clean sheets in 38 matches in his first season in England. He played a key part in Liverpool's Champions League victory, not least the last-minute save he made to prevent a draw with Napoli which would have knocked them out at the group stage.
Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson and Barcelona's Marc-Andre Ter Stegen are the other shortlisted men. A domestic treble winner with City, Alisson's Brazil team-mate kept 20 clean sheets. Ter Stegen won LaLiga with Barcelona earlier this year, keeping 16 clean sheets across 35 matches.
Zsori was just 18 when making his league debut and ended it by scoring a stoppage-time winner with an overhead kick!
π²π Daniel Zsori wins the Puskas award thanks to this incredible goal for Debrecen!
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
π Bare in mind he was 18, making his senior debut against the league's leaders and it came in stoppage time...#TheBest #FIFAFootballAwardspic.twitter.com/gtBdZmeWNb
Lionel Messi sealed the 51st hat-trick of his sensational career in trademark genius fashion, delicately producing a first-time chipped effort over Real Betis goalkeeper Pau Lopez and in off the crossbar. Few would have complained if he bagged his first Puskas Award with this goal.
The Puskas awards wouldn't be the same without a Lionel Messi nomination.
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) August 19, 2019
π The chip to end all chips...pic.twitter.com/aPunAcC4UI
Juan Fernando Quintero was also in the running with a sensational free kick for River Plate in Argentina.
π Juan Fernando Quintero's Puskas contending goal in slow motion.
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) August 19, 2019
Perfection.pic.twitter.com/ihSgi2Y5em
Phil Neville re-energised England Women and guided them to a World Cup semi-final in France, where they lost to the USA.
The Americans' coach - Portsmouth-born Jill Ellis - joined Neville on the shortlist along with Holland coach Sarina Wiegman, who led the European nation to the final.
WINNERS: Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds
To the bemusement of many fans who have not always associated Leeds or Bielsa with fair play, the veteran Argentinian and his players were awarded the Fair Play Award for allowing Aston Villa to score against them in April.
Angry scenes broke out after Mateusz Klich scored for Leeds while Villa's Jonathan Kodjia lay injured on the field. Bielsa insisted Leeds, despite the attempts of former defender Pontus Jansson to stop them, allow Villa to score immediately from the kick-off.
Captain Liam Cooper and fitness coach Benoit Delaval collected the award on Bielsa's behalf at the ceremony in Milan.
βͺοΈπ Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa have won the FIFA Fair Play award for letting Aston Villa score against them after this incident last season... #TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards #LUFC pic.twitter.com/Pt6RomBLrr
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
Alisson (Liverpool); Matthijs De Ligt (Ajax), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Virgil Van Dijk (Liverpool); Frenkie De Jong (Ajax, now at Barcelona), Eden Hazard (Chelsea, now at Real Madrid), Luka Modric (Real Madrid); Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
π² The FIFA FIFPro Menβs World XI looks pretty unstoppable...
β Sporting Life Football (@SportingLifeFC) September 23, 2019
𧀠Alisson Becker
πͺ Sergio Ramos
πͺ Virgil van Dijk
πͺ Matthijs de Ligt
πͺ Marcelo
π Luka Modric
π Frenkie de Jong
π Eden Hazard
β½οΈ Kylian Mbappe
β½οΈ Lionel Messi
β½οΈ Cristiano Ronaldo #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/8kEskU0Mf4
Sari Van Veenendaal; Lucy Bronze, Nilla Fischer, Kelley O'Hara, Wendie Renard; Julie Ertz, Amandine Henry, Rose Lavelle; Marta, Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe
π¨ @FIFPro together with @FIFAcom proudly presents the Womenβs #World11 of 2019! π¨
β FIFPRO (@FIFPro) September 23, 2019
Congratulations to all! Well deserved! πππ
Read more here π https://t.co/hyD1QzHLOl#TheBestAwards #OneStage pic.twitter.com/OkoJtopWQ5
The shortlist for the Best FIFA Men's Player, Best FIFA Women's Player, Best FIFA Men's Coach and Best FIFA Women's Coach awards were put to the fans via the FIFA website earlier this year and all votes cast would count for 25% of the final vote.
The remaining 75% of the votes come from the national coaches of FIFA Member Associations, their team captains and a select group of football journalists from those countries.
1991-2009 (FIFA World Player of the Year)
2010-2015 (FIFA's Ballon d'Or)
2016-to present (FIFA's Best Men's Player)