Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the greatest footballers of all-time and he’ll be hoping to cap off a stellar 2022 by taking home a FIFA The Best award on February 27.
After missing out on the 2022 Ballon d’Or, Messi has a strong chance of winning FIFA’s honor after leading Argentina to a tentative World Cup crown.
Despite now being 35, the PSG star continues to play some of the best football on the planet, competing with Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe for the FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award.
However, Messi’s history with the award is not as successful as it has been with other awards.
Has Lionel Messi ever won FIFA The Best award?
Ahead of the 2023 ceremony, Messi has previously only ever won FIFA’s The Best award on one occasion.
His sole triumph came in 2019 when he edged out Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo for the honour.
Messi has finished runner-up a record three times to date, missing out on the 2021 award by just four votes to Robert Lewandowski.
The Argentine did also notably win FIFA’s previous global award, the FIFA World Player of the Year, in 2009.
Messi FIFA The Best history
Messi has been a finalist for the FIFA The Best award six times — only ever missing out on the top three in 2018.
Should he win the honour for 2022, he will become just the third men’s player after Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski to win it twice.
| Year | Finish |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 2nd |
| 2017 | 2nd |
| 2018 | 5th |
| 2019 | 1st |
| 2020 | 3rd |
| 2021 | 2nd |
| 2022 | TBC |
Clicks on ADS 👇👇
.