Lionel Messi has written his name into football's history books after being named FIFA The Best Men's Player of Year, going one ahead of his longstanding rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who snubbed the awards gala once again.
Click through the gallery to see the final ranking for FIFA's The Best Men's Payer award.
The Argentine won the award following a great individual campaign that saw him score 51 goals and assist another 22 in just 50 appearances.
In addition, he also lifted the LaLiga and Supercopa de Espana titles. Messi won the award for the first time since 2015 and lifted it for a sixth time overall, going one ahead of his longstanding rival Ronaldo.
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Van Dijk, who beat Messi and Ronaldo to the UEFA Player of the Year award in August, and Ronaldo were the other two finalists and they, too, can look back at brilliant campaigns.
The Dutchman won the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool and helped the Reds finish the season with a club record-high of 97 points in the Premier League.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, claimed the Supercoppa Italiana and Serie A titles with Juventus, plus the UEFA Nations League prize with Portugal, and scored 28 goals in his debut season in Italy.
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Note: The Best FIFA Men's Player was previously known as FIFA Ballon d'Or between 2010 and 2015, when FIFA and France Football collaborated to produce the prize, and the FIFA World Player of the Year between 1991 and 2009.
Do you think Van Dijk deserved to beat Messi and Ronaldo to the award? Have your say in the comments section below.
