The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French magazine France Football since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career, such as five Ballon d'Or awards, a record three UEFA Men's Player of the Year Awards, four European Golden Shoes, and was named five times the world's best player by FIFA, the most by a European player. He has won 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, most appearances (30), assists (8), goals in the European Championship (14), international appearances (216) and international goals (133). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,200 professional career appearances, the most by an outfield player, and has scored over 900 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time.
The European Golden Shoe, also known as European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the leading goalscorer in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of a football boot. From its inception in the 1967–68 season, the award, originally called Soulier d'Or, which translates from French as Golden Shoe or Boot, has been given to the top goalscorer in all European leagues during a season. Since 1997, it has been calculated using a weighting in favour of the highest ranked leagues. Originally presented by L'Équipe newspaper, it has been awarded by the European Sports Media since the 1996–97 season. Lionel Messi has won the award six times, the most out of every winner, all while playing for Barcelona.
Xavier Hernández Creus, commonly known as XaviHernández or simply Xavi, is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who most recently managed La Liga club Barcelona. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Xavi is renowned for his passing, vision, and positioning.
Lionel Andrés Messi, also known as 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 set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career such as eight Ballon d'Or awards and eight times being named the world's best player by FIFA. He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football having won 45 team trophies, including twelve league titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues, two Copa Américas, and one FIFA World Cup. Messi holds the records for most European Golden Shoes (6), most goals for a single club, most goals (474), hat-tricks (36) and assists (192) in La Liga, most matches played (39), assists (18) and goal contributions (34) in the Copa América, most matches played (26) and goal contributions (21) in the World Cup, most international appearances (189) and international goals (112) by a South American male, and the second-most in the latter category outright. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi has scored over 850 senior career goals for club and country.
At the end of each FIFA World Cup final tournament, several awards are presented to the players and teams who have distinguished themselves in various aspects of the game.
The Onze d'Or is an association football award given by French magazine Onze Mondial since 1976. The award honors the best player in Europe, with any player in a European league eligible. Since 1991, there has also been a vote for the best coach of the year.
World Soccer is an English-language football magazine, published by Kelsey Media. The magazine was established in 1960 and is the oldest continually published football magazine in the United Kingdom. It specialises in the international football scene. Its regular contributing writers include Brian Glanville, Keir Radnedge, Sid Lowe, Tim Vickery, and Henry Winter. World Soccer is a member of the European Sports Media (ESM), an umbrella group of similar magazines printed in other languages. The members of this group elect a European "Team of the Month" and a European "Team of the Year".
The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) is an organisation that chronicles the history and records of association football. It was founded in 1984 by Alfredo Pöge in Leipzig. The IFFHS was based in Abu Dhabi for some time but, in 2010, relocated to Bonn, Germany, and then in 2014 to Zürich.
El Clásico or El Clàssic, both meaning "The Classic", is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid. Originally referring to competitions held in the Spanish championship, the term now includes every match between the clubs, such as those in the UEFA Champions League, Supercopa de España and Copa del Rey. It is considered one of sport's fiercest rivalries, and its matches have a global audience of hundreds of millions. A fixture known for its intensity, it has featured memorable goal celebrations from both teams, often involving mockery from both sides.
Robert Lewandowski is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. He is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and as one of the best strikers of all time. He is one of the most successful players in Bundesliga and Bayern Munich history. He has scored over 600 senior career goals for club and country.
Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, also known as Neymar Júnior or simply Neymar, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a left winger, attacking midfielder or forward for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Brazil national team. Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, he is known for his skills, dribbling, playmaking, and finishing. Neymar is one of the few players to have scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs. He is the highest-scoring Brazilian in the UEFA Champions League and is also Brazil's all-time top goalscorer.
This is a list of statistical records for the Argentina national football team.
The La Liga Awards, previously known as the LFP awards, are presented annually by the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (LFP) to the best players and coach in La Liga, the first division of association football in Spain. Established in the 2008–09 season, they were the first official awards in the history of the Spanish competition. La Liga's best coach and player in each position—goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, and forward—were chosen based on a voting by the captain and vice-captains of each club, while the best player overall was determined via statistical analysis.
Paulo Exequiel Dybala is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Serie A club Roma and the Argentina national team. Nicknamed "La Joya", he is known for his dribbling and goalscoring.
The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry or Ronaldo–Messi rivalry is a sporting rivalry in football propelled by the media and fans that involves Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, mainly for being contemporaries and due to their similar records and sporting successes. They spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers facing off regularly while playing for rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Goal, stylized in all caps and alternatively known as Goal.com, is a website currently dedicated to the coverage of international association football. Currently owned by the Integrated Media Company (IMC) division of TPG Inc. since 2020, it is published in 18 languages across 38 global regions and edited by over 500 contributors as of 2019.
The Guardian 100 Best Male Footballers in the World is a list of the current best male footballers published annually by the British newspaper The Guardian. From its inception to 2017, it was known as The Guardian 100 Best Footballers in the World. It is decided by a panel of experts from several nations.
