Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Men’s Award in Milan tonight, beating out Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Van Dijk was favourite heading into the event, which Ronaldo wasn’t present at, but Messi scooped the award.
All three players were included in the Men’s Best XI, which also contained Van Dijk’s team-mate Alisson, who won the Men’s goalkeeper award.
Megan Rapinoe picked up the Women’s award after her World Cup heroics in the summer.
Rapinoe said: “I’m at a loss for words. First and foremost I want to thank my family, my friends and family, thank you for all my support you’ve given me and all the coaches I’ve had in my life,” she said.
“Jill Ellis and the rest have put us in a great position.
“This was an incredible year for women’s football, for those who just noticed you are a bit late to the party.
“It truly was incredible, to be part of the World Cup, the enthusiasm we had was amazing.”
“Some of the stories that inspired me this year, Raheem Sterling and Koulibaly their incredible performance on the field and their reaction to the disgusting racism they have to take.
“If we really want to have meaningful change, if everyone other than Sterling or Koulibaly was outraged, if everyone was outraged by the homophobia.
“We have such an incredible opportunity being professional footballers, so much success, an incredible platform.
“I ask everyone here, lend your platform to other people, share your success. We have a unique opportunity to use this game to actually change the world for better. I hope you take that to heart, do something, we have incredible power in this room.”
FIFA Best Awards results LIVE:
The Best FIFA Men’s Player WINNER: Lionel Messi
The Best FIFA Women’s Player WINNER: Megan Rapinoe
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach WINNER: Jurgen Klopp
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach WINNER: Jill Ellis
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper WINNER: Alisson Becker
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper WINNER: Sari van Veenendaal
FIFA Puskas Award WINNER: Daniel Zsori
FIFA Fan Award WINNER: Silvia Grecco
FIFA Fair Play Award WINNER: Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United
FIFA Women’s Best XI: Sari van Veenendaal, Lucy Bronze, Wendie Renard, Nilla Fischer, Kelley O’Hara, Amandine Henry, Julie Ertz, Lieke Martens, Rose Lavelle, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan.
FIFA Men’s Best XI: Alisson, Sergio Ramos, Matthijs De Ligt, Virgil van Dijk, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Frenkie de Jong, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eden Hazard