The debate over who is the greatest football player of all time seems endless, with fans often turning to statistics to make their case. One common measure is the number of individual awards a player has received.
Though numbers alone don’t capture the full essence of football and its greatest players, who create unforgettable moments beyond statistics, these awards remain a significant and highly contested aspect of the sport. Winning them brings both honor and bragging rights.
5. The FIFA Puskas Award
We include the FIFA Puskas Award for its democratic approach and its unique celebration of beauty in football.
Established by FIFA in 2009, this award recognizes the most visually stunning goal of the year, which is a subjective choice. It can be awarded to any player, regardless of gender, and even to lesser-known players. Lionel Messi, unsurprisingly, has received the most nominations, with a total of seven.
Named after the legendary Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskas, the award has faced its share of controversies due to its subjective criteria, such as when Mohamed Salah won it for a spectacular goal in 2018.
Despite the debates, we believe the Puskas Award is a vital tribute to the aesthetic aspects of football and should be maintained.
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4. The European Golden Shoe
Originally introduced by L’Équipe magazine, the European Golden Shoe is awarded to the leading goal-scorer across all top European football leagues. From 1968 to 1991, there was no differentiation between leagues in Europe until a dispute involving a Cypriot player led to changes.
As a result, L’Équipe paused the Golden Shoe award for five years. From the 1996-97 season onward, European Sports Media began overseeing the award, applying a coefficient system that gives more importance to the top leagues.
Lionel Messi has won the revised award six times, with his long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo securing it four times. In the past 25 years, only two players from outside the top five European leagues, Henrik Larsson and Mario Jardel, have claimed the prize.
3. The Golden Ball
The Golden Ball is a highly esteemed award that recognizes the top footballer in the FIFA World Cup, transcending mere statistics.
To win this award, a player doesn’t necessarily need to be on the winning team or have the highest stats like goals, saves, or assists. Instead, they must have made a significant impact on the tournament through their performances.
In fact, the most recent Golden Ball winner from the World Cup-winning team was Brazilian forward Romario, who claimed the award in 1994. Both Lionel Messi and Luka Modric, the previous recipients of the award, were runners-up in their respective tournaments.
The rarity of winning the Golden Ball further enhances its prestige, as top footballers have only a few opportunities throughout their careers to claim it.
2. FIFA World Player of the Year/Fifa The Best
From 1991 to 2009, FIFA awarded the World Player of the Year title to the top male footballer each year. In 2010, this award merged with the Ballon d’Or and continued as a combined honor for six years. After this merger ended, FIFA introduced the Best FIFA Awards, which now include both men’s and women’s categories.
Ronaldo Nazario from Brazil and Zinedine Zidane from France each won the original award three times. Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed the newer version of the award twice.
1. The Ballon d’Or
Since 1956, France Football magazine has awarded the Ballon d’Or annually to the top footballer in the world.
The Ballon d’Or, the oldest and most esteemed award in football, was merged with the FIFA award for six years until 2009 but is now presented independently.
Originally envisioned by sports journalist Gabriel Hanot, the award first honored only the best European player each season. This changed in 1995, allowing players from any nation competing in European leagues to be considered.
In 2007, the Ballon d’Or became a global award, and voting rights were expanded to include team captains and coaches, in addition to football journalists.
Lionel Messi has won the prestigious Ballon d’Or six times, while Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed it five times. Luka Modric ended the Messi-Ronaldo dominance by winning in 2018, the same year he also earned the Golden Ball.
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