Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo: Who has secured more Best FIFA Football Awards?

Individual accolades are gaining greater prominence in contemporary football, a trend initially set by the Ballon d'Or and subsequently amplified with the establishment of the FIFA Best Awards.

In the case of players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, these personal honours provide an additional metric for comparing them, independent of the club trophies they've accumulated.

The next edition of the award will be held on January 15 in London, and it will be another contest between Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland for The FIFA Best Men's Player Award for 2023, per ESPN.

What do the FIFA Best Awards entail?

The inception of the FIFA Best Awards dates back to 2016. While the Best FIFA Men's Player garners significant attention among all the honours, there are several others in the lineup.

These include distinctions such as the Best Men's Goalkeeper, Best Men's Coach, the FIFPro Men's World 11, and analogous awards dedicated to women's football.


Additionally, the mixed fair play award is conferred upon a team or individual for displaying sportsmanship throughout the year.

The prestigious Puskas Award recognizes the best goal, alongside the FIFA Fan Award and the Special Award for Outstanding Career Achievement.

Who has won more FIFA Best Awards: Messi or Ronaldo?

The prolonged and exhaustive debate over whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi is the superior player seemingly found resolution when Messi secured the World Cup with Argentina, and Ronaldo made a move to Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

Despite this, Ronaldo has taken the lead in the FIFA Best Awards, clinching the Best Men's Player title twice, in 2016 and 2017. Messi also claimed the award in 2019 and 2022 but has been the runner-up three times, while Ronaldo secured the position twice.

Robert Lewandowski has also won the award twice, and Luka Modric is the other recipient. Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah from Liverpool, as well as Neymar and Antoine Griezmann, have all made appearances in the top three.