The Best FIFA Football Awards: Full List of Past Winners

There are an array of individual prizes on offer at the Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony.

Vinicius Junior was named Best FIFA Men’s Player in 2024. / Ameen Ahmed/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Soccer is a team game, but that doesn’t prevent an almighty scramble for individual awards every single year.

The Ballon d’Or might boast the renown and prestige that all other prizes aspire to achieve, but the relatively recent introduction of the Best FIFA Football Awards offers another route to solo stardom for the world’s elite.

There are an array of accolades on offer at the ceremony, which has been staged by world soccer’s governing body since the inaugural event in January 2017. Prizes are distributed based on performances over the calendar year, with both coaches and players earning acclaim.

Here are the past winners across all the Best FIFA Football Awards categories since its inception.

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The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Past Winners

Lionel Messi has won the accolade more than any other player. / Rich Storry/Getty Images

Cristiano Ronaldo scooped the first two Best FIFA Men’s Player awards, collecting the prize for 2016 and 2017, but it’s the ex-Real Madrid star’s longstanding career rival Lionel Messi who has collected the crown most frequently.

The veteran forward triumphed in 2019 with Barcelona and then won successive awards in 2022 and 2023 following his performances for Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and, most importantly, Argentina.

Robert Lewandowski is tied with Ronaldo in second with two victories, while modern Real Madrid greats Luka Modrić and Vinicius Junior have also clinched the honor previously.

Year	Winner	Club
2016	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid
2017	Cristiano Ronaldo	Real Madrid
2018	Luka Modrić	Real Madrid
2019	Lionel Messi	Barcelona
2020	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich
2021	Robert Lewandowski	Bayern Munich
2022	Lionel Messi	Paris Saint-Germain
2023	Lionel Messi	Paris Saint-Germain/Inter Miami
2024	Vinicius Junior	Real Madrid

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The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Past Winners

Emiliano Martínez has won the prize twice. / IMAGO/Alterphotos

The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper was not crowned in 2016 as Gianluigi Buffon scooped the inaugural title the following year for his displays with Juventus. Thibaut Courtois stole his crown in 2018, representing both Chelsea and Real Madrid, before Alisson and Manuel Neuer proceeded to earn the prize.

But Premier League sides have dominated the award in recent years, with Édouard Mendy winning in 2021 after his Champions League heroics with Chelsea, while Manchester City’s Ederson ran out victor in 2023—sandwiched in between victories for Aston Villa stopper Emiliano Martínez.

Year	Player	Club
2017	Gianluigi Buffon	Juventus
2018	Thibaut Courtois	Chelsea/Real Madrid
2019	Alisson	Liverpool
2020	Manuel Neuer	Bayern Munich
2021	Édouard Mendy	Chelsea
2022	Emiliano Martínez	Aston Villa
2023	Ederson	Manchester City
2024	Emiliano Martínez	Aston Villa

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The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Past Winners

Only Jürgen Klopp has won the award more than once. / Michael Regan/Getty Images

An array of soccer’s elite tactical minds have got their hands on the Best FIFA Men’s Coach award, but only ex-Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has won it on more than one occasion. Champions League success in 2019 and Premier League glory in 2020 ensured two successive triumphs.

Claudio Ranieri rightly won the trophy in 2016 after achieving impossible Premier League glory with Leicester City, while Frenchmen Zinedine Zidane and Didier Deschamps followed in the Italian’s footsteps.

Thomas Tuchel, Lionel Scaloni, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti have all won since Klopp’s back-to-back titles.

Year	Manager	Team
2016	Claudio Ranieri	Leicester City
2017	Zinedine Zidane	Real Madrid
2018	Didier Deschamps	France
2019	Jürgen Klopp	Liverpool
2020	Jürgen Klopp	Liverpool
2021	Thomas Tuchel	Paris Saint-Germain/Chelsea
2022	Lionel Scaloni	Argentina
2023	Pep Guardiola	Manchester City
2024	Carlo Ancelotti	Real Madrid

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FIFA Puskás Award: Past Winners

A special Olivier Giroud scorpion kick was voted best in 2017. / Craig Mercer/CameraSport/Getty Images

The FIFA Puskás Award is less self-explanatory, but is awarded to the best goal across a calendar year. A few unknowns have achieved the feat, with Mohd Faiz Subri, Dániel Zsóri, Marcin Oleksy and Guilherme Madruga hardly household names.

However, plenty of big-hitters have scored stunners worthy of the prize, with Premier League stars past and present dominating the award. Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min and Alejandro Garnacho are among the recipients.

Year	Player	Team
2016	Mohd Faiz Subri	Penang
2017	Olivier Giroud	Arsenal
2018	Mohamed Salah	Liverpool
2019	Dániel Zsóri	Debrecen
2020	Son Heung-min	Tottenham Hotspur
2021	Erik Lamela	Tottenham Hotspur
2022	Marcin Oleksy	Warta Poznań
2023	Guilherme Madruga	Botafogo-SP
2024	Alejandro Garnacho	Manchester United

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The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Past Winners

Aitana Bonmatí has dominated the award in recent years. / IMAGO / Sports Press Photo

Before Barcelona’s dominance of the Best FIFA Women’s Player award, winners were hard to predict.

Carli Lloyd won the inaugural prize and was followed by United States compatriot Megan Rapinoe three years later. In between their victories, Lieke Martens and Marta clinched the crown, while Lucy Bronze triumphed in 2020.

But it’s been all Barça since then, with two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas collecting FIFA’s top individual prize in the same year as her golden ball wins in 2021 and 2022.

Like her fellow Spaniard, Aitana Bonmatí has won back-to-back titles, adding to her three Ballon d’Or wins.

Year	Player	Club
2016	Carli Lloyd	Houston Dash
2017	Lieke Martens	Rosengård/Paris Saint-Germain
2018	Marta	Orlando Pride
2019	Megan Rapinoe	Seattle Reign
2020	Lucy Bronze	Lyon/Manchester City
2021	Alexia Putellas	Barcelona
2022	Alexia Putellas	Barcelona
2023	Aitana Bonmatí	Barcelona
2024	Aitana Bonmatí	Barcelona

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The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Past Winners

Mary Earps won best goalkeeper twice at Manchester United. / James Gill/Danehouse/Getty Images

The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper award wasn’t dished out until 2019, with Sari van Veenendaal the first ever victor. Two Lyon stoppers followed in her path, with Sarah Bouhaddi and Christiane Endler enjoying wins in the subsequent years.

Mary Earps remains the only two-time winner following her exploits with both Manchester United and, chiefly, England. She won successive crowns in 2022 and 2023, but was unable to achieve a three-peat as Alyssa Naeher beat her to the trophy in 2024.

Year	Player	Club
2019	Sari van Veenendaal	Arsenal/Atlético Madrid
2020	Sarah Bouhaddi	Lyon
2021	Christiane Endler	Paris Saint-Germain/Lyon
2022	Mary Earps	Manchester United
2023	Mary Earps	Manchester United
2024	Alyssa Naeher	Chicago Red Stars

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The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Past Winners

Sarina Wiegman has dominated this award. / IMAGO/Schüler

This is Sarina Wiegman’s award. Having won the prize four times—twice while managing the Netherlands and twice while coaching England—she has demolished the competition since the first award in 2016, which was won by Silva Neid.

Emma Hayes is the only other serial champion, winning in 2021 and 2024, while ex-Lyon manager Reynald Pedros and former United States head coach Jill Ellis have each won once.

Year	Manager	Team
2016	Silvia Neid	Germany
2017	Sarina Wiegman	Netherlands
2018	Reynald Pedros	Lyon
2019	Jill Ellis	United States
2020	Sarina Wiegman	Netherlands
2021	Emma Hayes	Chelsea
2022	Sarina Wiegman	England
2023	Sarina Wiegman	England
2024	Emma Hayes	Chelsea/United States

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FIFA Marta Award: Past Winners

Marta won the inaugural award named after her. / Chico Peixoto/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images

The equivalent of FIFA’s Puskás Award in the women’s game, the FIFA Marta Award is named after the fabled Brazilian star. She also won the inaugural title in 2024 for her stunning strike against Jamaica in an international friendly.

Year[	Player	Team
2024	Marta	Brazil

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