Since the first ceremony in January 2017, the Best FIFA Football Awards have recognised individual excellence across the calendar year. The ceremony covers players, coaches, goalkeepers and goals, with honours handed out to men’s and women’s game figures based on their performances.

In the men’s player category Cristiano Ronaldo secured the early prizes for 2016 and 2017, while Lionel Messi has won most often with victories in 2019, 2022 and 2023 for his contributions at Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Inter Miami and Argentina. Robert Lewandowski has two titles, tying with Ronaldo, and other winners include Luka Modrić and Vinicius Junior. The most recent winner in the men’s player category listed is Vinicius Junior in 2024 for Real Madrid.

The men’s goalkeeper award was first presented in 2017 to Gianluigi Buffon. Thibaut Courtois won in 2018 representing Chelsea and Real Madrid. Alisson and Manuel Neuer followed, with Premier League goalkeepers dominating later years: Édouard Mendy won in 2021 with Chelsea, Emiliano Martínez took the trophy in 2022 and again in 2024 for Aston Villa, and Ederson was the 2023 winner for Manchester City.

Among coaches Jürgen Klopp is the only multiple winner, lifting the prize in 2019 and 2020 after Champions League and Premier League success. Claudio Ranieri won the inaugural award for 2016, followed by Zinedine Zidane, Didier Deschamps, Thomas Tuchel, Lionel Scaloni, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti in subsequent years.

The Puskás Award for the best goal has gone to a mix of lesser-known scorers and high-profile names. Recipients include Mohd Faiz Subri, Olivier Giroud, Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min, Erik Lamela and Alejandro Garnacho, with other winners such as Dániel Zsóri, Marcin Oleksy and Guilherme Madruga.

On the women’s side Carli Lloyd won the first women’s player prize, with Lieke Martens, Marta, Megan Rapinoe and Lucy Bronze also honoured. Alexia Putellas won in 2021 and 2022 and Aitana Bonmatí in 2023 and 2024 for Barcelona. The women’s goalkeeper award began in 2019 with Sari van Veenendaal; Mary Earps won consecutive trophies in 2022 and 2023 for Manchester United, and Alyssa Naeher was the 2024 winner. Sarina Wiegman has collected the women’s coach award four times across her spells with the Netherlands and England, with Emma Hayes, Silvia Neid, Reynald Pedros and Jill Ellis also among past winners. The 2024 Marta Award was won by Marta.

Pep Guardiola’s warm appraisal of Rodrygo after a recent match has renewed speculation about the Brazil international’s future. Guardiola spoke with Rodrygo after the game and made his admiration clear: “I told Rodrygo how good he is,” the City boss revealed. “He’s a player of another level… this guy is a player on another level. I’m glad he’s back from injury. He’s very, very good.”

The remarks came after a display that represented one of Rodrygo’s best nights in months. Deployed on his unfavored right wing, he opened the scoring with a crisp swipe into the bottom corner to end a record-breaking eight-month goal drought. He also created the game’s most chances — five in total, all of which were squandered — and won the most free kicks. Despite those contributions, and his own admission that “it wasn’t enough” to avoid defeat, Madrid fell 2–1.

Guardiola’s praise will inevitably stir headlines because City have long felt the sting of Rodrygo’s interventions. He scored twice in the final minutes of the 2022 Champions League semifinal to drag Real Madrid back into contention, and he found the net in both legs of the 2024 quarterfinal. That history, combined with summer reports that City were among suitors when his future at Madrid looked uncertain, means any public endorsement from Guardiola is likely to be noticed.

Rodrygo himself has sought to focus on his club responsibilities. Having struggled for a starting berth this term, he pledged to knuckle down under Alonso and made a point of celebrating his goal with the manager. “I liked his performance,” Alonso said of Rodrygo. “The goal was a consequence of other things he did well. It’s one of today’s good pieces of news to see him with that individual quality, that flair, and he also scored, which was important for him. ]

The combination of a decisive individual performance, a high-profile admirer, and a recent transfer backdrop ensures the conversation around Rodrygo’s next steps will continue. For now, the immediate focus remains on his form and fitness.

Real Madrid and Manchester City have met ten times on the Champions League stage in the last five years, producing a sequence of tightly contested and decisive encounters.

The 2024–25 knockout playoff produced a standout second leg at the Bernabéu, where Kylian Mbappé scored in the fourth minute, doubled his side’s lead just after the half hour and completed a 61st-minute hat trick. He became the first player in Champions League history to score thrice at the Bernabéu and the Camp Nou. Nico González scored late but Madrid advanced on the night.

That tie had begun at the Etihad with both sides out of form. Erling Haaland and Mbappé traded early blows. Haaland thought he had sealed the game from the spot in the 80th minute, but Brahim Díaz and Jude Bellingham responded with two goals in six minutes to give Real Madrid the advantage heading to the return leg.

On Apr. 17, 2024 at the Etihad, Rodrygo opened in the 12th minute and Kevin De Bruyne levelled in the 76th. The match remained tied after extra time and was decided on penalties, where Andriy Lunin saved spot kicks from Bernardo Silva and Mateo Kovačić to eliminate the defending champions.

The Bernabéu first leg of the 2023–24 quarterfinal featured an early Bernardo Silva strike, a Rúben Dias own goal and Rodrygo’s response. Phil Foden and Joško Gvardiol put City ahead before Federico Valverde forced a draw.

On May 13, 2023, City overwhelmed Real Madrid in the second leg of the 2022–23 semifinals. Bernardo Silva scored twice in the first half, with Manuel Akanji and Julián Alvarez adding further goals to seal a comprehensive victory that propelled City to the final.

The 2022–23 first leg saw Vinicius Junior score in the 36th minute and De Bruyne equalise from nearly the same area. The 2021–22 return in Madrid produced Rodrygo’s two late goals to force extra time and Karim Benzema’s penalty in extra time completed a memorable comeback.

Their 2021–22 first leg at the Etihad finished 4–3 after a flood of goals from both sides. In 2019–20, the round of 16 ties were split: the first leg ended 2–1 to City after a De Bruyne penalty and a late red for Sergio Ramos; the second leg at empty stands saw Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus secure a 2–1 win following Raphaël Varane errors and a Benzema reply.

Across these ten matches, small margins and dramatic swings repeatedly decided who advanced.