Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi: Who has received the most FIFA Best Football Awards?

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The FIFA Gala has taken place in a glitzy ceremony in the French capital Paris where the governing body of football handed out awards for the outstanding achievers of the game from last year.

FIFA created the award as a competition for the Ballon d’Or after the 1990 World Cup but discontinued the award in 2009. However, it has been resumed in 2017 and the current edition is the sixth one. Alongside Ballon d’Or, this also now holds great value to the fans and players.

Based on how well they performed the year prior, a total of 9 categories got awarded. However, just like every other year, the main attention was focused on The Best FIFA Men's Player. Argentine and PSG talisman Lionel Messi deservingly claimed the trophy after his World Cup 2022 heroics, putting the likes of Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe, and Robert Lewandowski behind in this edition.

His former arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo however was not in even contention for a spot sadly. But having said that, the Portuguese in his career has been blessed with a number of FIFA awards earlier and is at par with Lionel Messi as of now.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Lionel Messi:

Below we have taken a look at both superstars' total number of FIFA Awards so far in their careers.

How many FIFA Best Player Awards has Cristiano Ronaldo won?

Following the return of the award, Ronaldo claimed the trophy in 2017 in its very first edition and is one of only four people to have one multiple 'Best’ awards. Ronaldo claimed the Best FIFA Men's Player in 2017 after a glittering Champions League season.

He helped Real Madrid to win the second Champions League title in three years while guiding Portugal to their win their first ever major tournament at the European Championships.

A year later, Ronaldo claimed another Best FIFA Men's Player which could be one of the finest Champions League seasons by a player. Ronaldo Ronaldo had a prolific tournament, scoring five goals against Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals, three goals against Atletico Madrid in the semifinals, and two goals against Juventus in the final game as Real Madrid won another UCL title. Not only that the current Al-Nassr star also helped the Los Blancos win their first league title in five years.

How many FIFA Best Player Awards has Lionel Messi won?

Messi has claimed seven Ballon d’Ors to Ronaldo’s five however in this segment he is at par with the Portuguese legend. Winning the latest Best FIFA Men's Player has seen him equalling Ronaldo with two FIFA Best player awards. The latest victory was expected following a World Cup campaign where he claimed the Golden Ball and helped Argentina win their third World Cup. He also won the Finalissima with the Argentina national team as well as Ligue 1 with PSG.

The last time he claimed the same trophy was in 2018-19 when he scored 51 goals in 50 games. He helped Barcelona to claim the La Liga trophy only that season however recorded one of the most prolific seasons in his career.