November 4, 2024

BREAKING: Lionel Messi Wins FIFA Best World Player, As US Rapinoe Won Women’s Category (FULL LIST)

Messi / Morgan

Published  September 24, 2019

Argentinian Barcelona player Lionel Messi receives the Best FIFA mens player award from FIFA president Gianni Infantino during the ceremony of the Best FIFA Football Awards, in Milan’s La Scala theater, northern Italy, Monday, Sept. 23, 2019, (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has won the Best Men’s Player at the Best Fifa Football Awards in Milan as Juventus’ Cristiano Ronaldo and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk missed out on the top prize.

It is the sixth time Messi has been voted the world’s best, after wins in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2015.

The 32-year-old Argentine helped Barcelona win La Liga and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Meanwhile, the United States forward Megan Rapinoe won the Best Women’s FIFA Women’s Player award on Monday, beating fellow World Cup winner Alex Morgan and England’s Lucy Bronze.

Rapinoe led the United States to the defence of their World Cup title in France in the summer.

The 34-year-old won the Golden Boot for being top scorer and the Golden Ball for the best player at the tournament.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was named men’s coach of the year after a season in which they beat Tottenham 2-0 to lift the Champions League.

The Reds also finished second in the Premier League with 97 points – the third-highest tally recorded in the competition.

Klopp was nominated for the award along with two other Premier League bosses – Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino.

“It is great, nobody expected this 20, 10, five, four years ago that I would be standing here,” said Klopp, whose team have won all six league matches at the start of the 2019-20 season.

“We know what an incredible job you [Mauricio Pochettino] did and what Pep did. I have to say thank you to my outstanding club Liverpool FC.

Klopp

“To the owners thank you, they gave me an incredible team. I have to thank my team – as a coach you can only be as good as your team is. I’m really proud of being manager of such an incredible bunch of players.”

In accepting the award, Klopp announced that he is joining the Common Goal initiative set up by Manchester United midfielder Juan Mata.

Alisson and Bielsa are also winners

Morgan

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson was also a winner as he took the best goalkeeper prize ahead of Manchester City’s Ederson and Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa won the fair play award after he ordered his team to allow Aston Villa to score an uncontested equaliser during their 1-1 draw in their Championship match in April.

Bielsa’s side had gone ahead controversially when the Villa players stopped as they expected the ball to be kicked out of play when Jonathan Kodjia was injured before the Argentine intervened.

Eighteen-year-old Daniel Zsori won the Puskas award for the best goal with his spectacular 93rd-minute overhead kick for Debrecen against Ferencvaros, just after he came on as a substitute for his Hungarian league debut in February.

His strike beat Messi’s chip from the edge of the penalty area against Real Betis and Juan Quintero’s powerful 30-yard free-kick for River Plate against Racing Club.

Fifa Fifpro Men’s Team of the YearBBC

Goalkeeper – Alisson (Liverpool/Brazil)

Defenders – Matthijs de Ligt (Ajax and Juventus/Netherlands), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid/Spain), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool/Netherlands), Marcelo (Real Madrid/Brazil).

Midfielders – Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia), Frenkie de Jong (Ajax and Barcelona/Netherlands), Eden Hazard (Chelsea and Real Madrid/Belgium)

Forwards – Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain/France), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus/Portugal), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina)

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