You’ve probably seen the shiny trophies and the tuxedos, but let’s be real: trying to figure out who is actually the FIFA World Footballer of the Year has become a bit of a headache lately. Between the rebranding, the weird tie-breakers, and that one time they just decided to merge with another award entirely, it’s a lot to keep track of.
Basically, it’s the award that matters most if you care about what the actual professionals think. While the Ballon d'Or is about what journalists see from the press box, the FIFA award—now officially called The Best FIFA Men’s Player—is a wild mix of opinions from coaches, captains, media, and even you.
The Messy History of FIFA’s Top Prize
It all started back in 1991. Lothar Matthäus took home the first one after captaining Germany to a World Cup win. Back then, it was just the "FIFA World Player of the Year." Simple. Easy to say.
Then things got weird.
In 2010, FIFA looked at the Ballon d'Or and thought, "Hey, why are we doing two separate things?" So they merged. For six years, we had the FIFA Ballon d’Or. If you were a world-class player during that window, you were either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, because literally nobody else won it. Seriously.
But like a celebrity marriage that looks great on Instagram but is falling apart behind the scenes, the partnership ended in 2016. FIFA went back to doing their own thing, rebranding the trophy as "The Best."
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Honestly, the name is kinda boring, but the weight it carries is massive.
How the Voting Actually Works (It’s Not Just a Popularity Contest)
Most people think these awards are just a bunch of guys in suits picking their friends. It’s actually a bit more structured than that. FIFA splits the voting power into four equal chunks:
- National Team Coaches: Every coach from a FIFA-recognized country gets a vote.
- National Team Captains: This is where it gets spicy. Imagine being the captain of a rival team and having to vote for the guy who just nutmegged you.
- Media Representatives: One specialist journalist from each territory.
- The Fans: This is the wildcard. You can actually go on the FIFA website and cast your vote.
Each group accounts for 25% of the final score.
Take the 2023 award, for example. It was a total deadlock. Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland both finished with exactly 48 points. It was bizarre. Since they were tied, FIFA had to use a specific tie-breaker rule: the player with more first-place votes from national team captains wins. Messi had more captains in his corner, so he took the trophy home, even though Haaland had a historic treble-winning season with Manchester City.
Who Really Owns the Record Books?
When we talk about the FIFA World Footballer of the Year and its various iterations, there is one name that stands above everything.
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Lionel Messi. He has won the FIFA award (including the merged years) a staggering eight times. To put that in perspective, Cristiano Ronaldo has five. After those two, it’s a massive drop-off to legends like Zinedine Zidane and the "original" Ronaldo (R9), who both won it three times.
Interestingly, Brazil is the most successful nation in the history of the award. They’ve had six different players win it: Romário, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaká, and most recently, Vinícius Júnior in 2024. Argentina has more total wins because of Messi, but Brazil has more variety.
Recent Winners and the New Guard
- 2025: Ousmane Dembélé (A bit of a shocker for some, but his season at PSG was lights out).
- 2024: Vinícius Júnior (Finally bringing the trophy back to Brazil after a long drought).
- 2022-2023: Lionel Messi (The post-World Cup "GOAT" victory lap).
- 2020-2021: Robert Lewandowski (The man who finally broke the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly).
Why This Award Is Different From the Ballon d’Or
This is the question everyone asks.
The Ballon d'Or is organized by France Football magazine. It's older, it's got more "prestige" in terms of history, and it's voted on only by journalists. It also recently switched to a "seasonal" schedule, meaning they look at how a player did from August to July.
FIFA, on the other hand, usually sticks to the calendar year. If you go on a tear from January to December, you’re more likely to win "The Best." Also, because FIFA includes fans and captains, it tends to reflect the "vibe" of the football world more than just the cold, hard stats of the press.
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Sometimes they agree. Sometimes they don't. In 2024, the Ballon d'Or went to Rodri, while the FIFA award went to Vinícius Júnior. It happens.
What to Watch for Next
If you want to keep up with who is actually the best in the world, don't just look at the highlight reels on social media. Pay attention to the international breaks. Because national team captains and coaches have such a huge say in the FIFA World Footballer of the Year, how a player acts and performs with their country is often the deciding factor.
If you’re looking to follow the race for the next cycle, keep an eye on these specific markers:
- Consistency in the Champions League: This is still the biggest stage for club football and carries the most weight with European-based voters.
- Major International Tournaments: World Cups and Euros almost always dictate the winner for that year.
- The "Captain’s Choice": Watch who the big-name players like Kylian Mbappé or Harry Kane are praising in interviews. Their votes carry literal weight in a tie-break.
Basically, the award is a snapshot of who the football world respects most at any given moment. It’s messy, it’s controversial, and people will argue about it forever. But that’s kinda why we love it.
Check the FIFA official website during the voting window—usually late in the year—to register your own vote. It's one of the few times fans actually get a seat at the table to decide who officially wears the crown.