| The Best FIFA Men's Player | |
| Presenter: | FIFA |
| Year: | 2016 |
| Holder Label: | Current holder |
| Holder: |  Lionel Messi(3rd award) |
| Most Awards: | Lionel Messi (3 awards) |
| Website: | fifa.com |
| Previous: | 2022 |
| Main: | The Best FIFA Men's Player |
| Next: | 2023 |
| Former Name: | FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009) FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015) |
The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year.[1] The award was formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Footballs Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.[2]
In 2010, the FIFA World Player of the Year award combined with the Ballon d'Or to create the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.[3] FIFA presided over the FIFA Ballon d'Or after agreeing to pay £13million for the merge of the two major player awards with France Football. The six editions of the FIFA Ballon d'Or were dominated by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as part of their ongoing rivalry. In 2016, the Ballon d’Or again lost its "FIFA" tag and would be voted for exclusively by journalists, while the FIFA World Player of the Year award – which ran from 1991 to 2009 – was resurrected, this time as The Best FIFA Men's Player.[4]
According to reports, FIFA's decision not to renew the deal was made in order to improve the organization's strained relationship with England's FA. This was based on the fact the annual ceremony was held in Zürich – and new FIFA president Gianni Infantino wanted to move the next one to London.
The trophy was designed by Croatian artist Ana Barbić Katičić.[5]
The selection criteria for the players of the year are sporting performance, as well as general conduct on and off the pitch.
The votes are decided by media representatives, national team coaches, and national team captains. In October 2016, it was announced that the general public would also be allowed to vote. Each group has 25% of the overall vote.[6]
| 2016 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 34.54% |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 26.42% | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd |  Antoine Griezmann | Atlético Madrid | 7.53% | |
| 2017 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Cristiano Ronaldo | Real Madrid | 43.16% |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 19.25% | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd |  Neymar | Paris Saint-Germain | 6.97% | |
| 2018 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Luka Modrić | Real Madrid | 29.05% |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 19.08% | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd |  Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 11.23% | |
| 2019 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 46 |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Virgil van Dijk | Liverpool | 38 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 36 | |
| 2020 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st |  Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 52 |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Cristiano Ronaldo | Juventus | 38 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Lionel Messi | Barcelona | 35 | |
| 2021 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Robert Lewandowski | Bayern Munich | 48 |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | 44 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 39 | |
| 2022 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Lionel Messi | Paris Saint-Germain | 52 |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 44 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Karim Benzema | Real Madrid | 34 | |
| 2023 | scope=col style="background-color: gold" | 1st | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | 48 |
| scope=col style="background-color: silver" | 2nd |  Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 48 | |
| scope=col style="background-color: #cc9966" | 3rd | Kylian Mbappé | Paris Saint-Germain | 35 | |
| Player | Winner | Runner-up | Third place | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 3 (2019, 2022, 2023) | 3 (2016, 2017, 2021) | 1 (2020) | |
| ) | 2 (2018, 2020) | 1 (2019) | ||
| 2 (2020, 2021) | — | — | ||
| Luka Modrić | 1 (2018) | — | — | |
| Kylian Mbappé | — | 1 (2022) | 1 (2023) | |
| Virgil van Dijk | — | 1 (2019) | — | |
| Erling Haaland | — | 1 (2023) | — | |
| Mohamed Salah | — | — | 2 (2018, 2021) | |
| Antoine Griezmann | — | — | 1 (2016) | |
| Neymar | — | — | 1 (2017) | |
| Karim Benzema | — | — | 1 (2022) |
| Country | Players | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | ||
| 1 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 1 |
| Club | Players | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real Madrid | 2 | 3 | |
| Bayern Munich | 1 | 2 | |
| Barcelona | 1 | 1 | |
| Paris Saint Germain | 1 | 1 | |
| Inter Miami | 1 | 1 |
| Players | FIFA World Player of the Year (1991–2009) | FIFA Ballon d'Or (2010–2015) | The Best FIFA Men's Player (2016–present) | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 1 | 4 | 3 | 8 | |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | |
| Ronaldo | 3 | — | — | 3 | |
| Zinedine Zidane | 3 | — | — | 3 | |
| Ronaldinho | 2 | — | — | 2 | |
| Robert Lewandowski | — | — | 2 | 2 | |
| Lothar Matthäus | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Marco van Basten | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
 Roberto Baggio | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Romário | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
 George Weah | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Rivaldo | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Luís Figo | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Fabio Cannavaro | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Kaká | 1 | — | — | 1 | |
| Luka Modrić | — | — | 1 | 1 |