{"id":1047762,"date":"2019-10-02T12:00:54","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T16:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1047762"},"modified":"2019-10-22T17:35:43","modified_gmt":"2019-10-22T21:35:43","slug":"who-else-besides-lionel-messi-won-fifa-player-of-the-year-awards-in-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/who-else-besides-lionel-messi-won-fifa-player-of-the-year-awards-in-the-21st-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Else Besides Lionel Messi won FIFA Player of the Year Awards in the 21st Century?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Compared to a sport like baseball or football, soccer doesn't have too many counting statistics. Outfield players can rack up goals and assists, goalies can record clean sheets, but you're not going to see pages of raw numbers after every single game. But that doesn't mean the beautiful game lacks major awards, though. Each year, FIFA names a Men's Player of the Year<\/a>; who has taken home that title besides Barcelona star Lionel Messi<\/a>, though?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the Ballon d'Or to the Best FIFA Men's Player<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Historically, the most prestigious award in world soccer was the Ballon d'Or. Literally “the Golden Ball” the trophy has been presented since 1956. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The award itself, however, has undergone some changes during its lifetime. From 1956 through 2010, the Ballon d'Or was an independent award presented by France Football. <\/em>In 2010, the award merged with FIFA's World Player of the Year Award; the hybrid was unsurprisingly named the FIFA Ballon d'Or. In 2016, the awards separated again<\/a> with the Ballon d'Or and the Best FIFA Men's Player becoming their own separate entities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Past Ballon d'Or winners<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=AnsBxRCRzYY\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

During the 20th century, some of soccer's biggest names took home the Ballon d'Or. Players like Eusebio and Bobby Charlton battled for the trophy in the late 1960s, before giving way to the likes of George Best and Gurd Muller. Johan Cryuff first took home the award in 1973; his compatriots Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard all made the podium in 1988.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1990s, Brazilians started to assert themselves in Ballon d'Or voting, with names like Ronaldo, Rivaldo, and Ronaldinho dominating the ballots. The trophy became synonymous with a blend of style and substance; Ballon d'Or winners didn't just score, they made the sublime look easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Messi And Ronaldo take over<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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