The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.
The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French news magazine France Football since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season.
Xavier Hernández Creus, also known as Xavi Hernández or simply Xavi, is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who manages La Liga club Barcelona. Widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi was renowned for his passing, vision, ball retention, and positioning. He won 32 trophies in his career, making him the second-most decorated Spanish player in history, behind former teammate Andrés Iniesta.
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record eight Ballon d'Or awards, a record six European Golden Shoes, and was named the world's best player for a record eight times by FIFA. Until leaving the club in 2021, he had spent his entire professional career with Barcelona, where he won a club-record 34 trophies, including ten La Liga titles, seven Copa del Rey titles, and the UEFA Champions League four times. With his country, he won the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 FIFA World Cup. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi holds the records for most goals in La Liga (474), most hat-tricks in La Liga (36) and the UEFA Champions League (eight), and most assists in La Liga (192) and the Copa América (17). He also has the most international goals by a South American male (106). Messi has scored over 800 senior career goals for club and country, and has the most goals by a player for a single club (672).
Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Pro League club Emirates. Widely considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, he was lauded for his balance, ball control and agility in close spaces, combined with his skill, composure, and flair on the ball. Iniesta has spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he played a major role in the club's success along with his midfield partners Xavi and Sergio Busquets.
La Masia de Can Planes, usually shortened to La Masia, is a term used for FC Barcelona's youth academy. The academy includes more than 300 young players. It has been an instrumental factor in Barcelona's European success, and produced several world class players in the early 2000s.
The 2010–11 season was FC Barcelona's 111th in existence and the club's 80th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. Barcelona started the season with a new president after Joan Laporta reached his term limit on 30 June, leaving behind a very successful club tenure.
The FIFA Ballon d'Or was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and France Football, the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or, the two most prestigious individual honours in world football. Unlike the Ballon d'Or awarded by France Football, the FIFA Ballon d'Or, was not awarded based on votes from international journalists, but votes from national team coaches and captains, who selected the players they deemed to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.
The UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award is an association football award given to the footballer playing for a men's football club in Europe that is considered the best in the previous season of both club and national team competition. The award, created in 2011 by UEFA in partnership with European Sports Media (ESM) group, was initially aimed at reviving the European Footballer of the Year Award, which was merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year Award in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or. It also replaced the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year award.
The 2011 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the second year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 9 January 2012, with Lionel Messi claiming the title of world player of the year for the third time in a row.
The 2012–13 season was Futbol Club Barcelona's 113th in existence and the club's 82nd consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football. The season marked the managerial debut of Tito Vilanova, who served as Pep Guardiola's longtime assistant. Vilanova assumed management of the club after Guardiola, who had managed Barcelona for the prior four seasons, declined to renew his contract.
The FIFA World Coach of the Year was an association football award given annually to the football coach who is considered to have performed the best in the previous 12 months. It was awarded based on votes from coaches and captains of international teams, as well as journalists from around the world.
The 2012 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the third year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 7 January 2013, with Lionel Messi winning a record fourth consecutive Ballon d'Or.
The 2013 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fourth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 13 January 2014. The deadline for voting was 15 November 2013 but was extended to 29 November 2013 for the first time in history.
The 2014 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the fifth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich on 12 January 2015.
The 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or Gala was the sixth year for FIFA's awards for the top football players and coaches of the year. The awards were given out in Zürich, Switzerland on 11 January 2016.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2016 were held on 9 January 2017 in Zürich, Switzerland. The Best FIFA Football Awards are the annual recognitions awarded by FIFA to several individuals across different categories, including: best eleven players of the year, known as FIFA FIFPro World XI, FIFA World Coach of the Year for men's and for women's football, best female player of the year, 2nd best male player of the year, and best goal of the year. The FIFA Fair Play Award is the only award that usually goes to groups or entities instead of individuals.
The Best FIFA Men's Player is an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, since 2016, to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. The award was formerly known as the FIFA World Player of the Year, which was merged with France Football's Ballon d'Or in 2010 to become the FIFA Ballon d'Or in a six-year partnership.
FIFA World Player Gala was an association football award show presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, throughout 1991–2009.
Lionel Messi (2nd Ballon d'Or)
