The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: Catch all the live updates from FIFA’s The Best Awards, which is being held at La Scala in Milan, Italy, through News18 Sports’ live blog. Lionel Messi and Megan Rapinoe picked up the top honours at the star-studded ceremony in Milan’s famous opera house. Messi beats Virgil van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo to win The Best Men’s Player award while Rapinoe beat Alex Morgan and Lucy Bronze to win The Best Women’s Player award.
Messi won the La Liga with Barcelona last season and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, where his team was defeated by Virgil van Dijk’s Liverpool. Liverpool eventually won the Champions League. Rapinoe, on the other hand, won the Women’s World Cup 2019 with the United States and also bagged the Golden Boot and Golden Shoe for being the best player and the top scorer of the tournament.
"Can't tell how good this feels. Messi can give me a heads up, had it so many times. I am at loss of words, that rarely happens."
She thanks her parents, her twin sister, her girlfriend. She dedicates the award to Jill Ellis and her US team. "Thank you for putting up with my s*it."
"The crowd we had (at the World Cup) was amazing. Raheem Sterling and Koulibaly, amazing performances on the field, but the way they have taken on the disgusting racism they have had to deal with. The Iranian woman who eventually set herself on fire. The LGBQT players. These are the stories that inspire me but also make me sad. If we want change, people other than Sterling and Koulibaly, would be as outraged about racism. People other than LGBQT outraged about homophobia. To all people here, use this beautiful game to actually change the world for better. We have incredible power in this room."
Congratulations, #MeganRapinoe
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Women's Player 2019 🏆#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/cokynhMRCX
Lionel Messi wins the Best Men's Player award. He has defeated Liverpool and Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk and fierce rival Cristiano Ronaldo to win the award. Messi won the La Liga with Barcelona in the last season.
Congratulations, #LeoMessi
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men's Player 2019 🏆#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/MKh2wV5T1M
Here is the FIFA FIFPro Men's World XI: Alisson Becker, Matthijs de Ligt, Sergio Ramos, Virgil van Dijk, Marcelo, Luka Modric, Frenkie de Jong, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Eden Hazard and Cristiano Ronaldo.
🚨 @FIFPro together with @FIFAcom proudly presents the Men’s #World11 of 2019! 🚨
— FIFPRO (@FIFPro) September 23, 2019
Congratulations to all! Well deserved! 👏🎉🎊
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/LR4DYYHZXA#TheBestAwards #OneStage pic.twitter.com/TZ4RDvcBPr
The World Cup winner Jill Ellis wins The Best Women's Coach award. She guided the United States to back-to-back victories in the World Cup and is the first coach ever to win two Women's World Cup.
She thanked her parents and credited them for entering this field. She called winning the award after two back-to-back World Cups a "crazy ride".
Congratulations, Jill Ellis 👏
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Women's Coach 2019 🏆#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/FQOQkCvIxp
Liverpool and Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker has won The Best Men's Goalkeeper award. Along with his laurels with Liverpool, he also won the Copa America with Brazil.
Congratulations, @Alissonbecker 👐
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper 2019 🏆#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/f163LZbOfx
🚨 @FIFPro together with @FIFAcom proudly presents the Women’s #World11 of 2019! 🚨
— FIFPRO (@FIFPro) September 23, 2019
Congratulations to all! Well deserved! 👏🎉🎊
Read more here 👉 https://t.co/hyD1QzHLOl#TheBestAwards #OneStage pic.twitter.com/OkoJtopWQ5
Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United squad wins the FIFA Fair Play award. During their Championship match against Aston Villa, they needed a win to qualify for the Premier League. With an Aston Villa player down, Leeds had scored a goal but understanding the situation, they let Aston Villa score back and the match ended 1-1.
Congratulations, Marcelo Bielsa & @LUFC squad 👏
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Winner of the FIFA Fair Play Award 2019 🏆#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/aPknLAKLYZ
Sari van Veenandaal wins The Best Women's Goalkeeper award. She was one of the integral parts of Netherlands' Women's World Cup campaign, where they reached the final.
Congratulations, @SarivVeenendaal 🧤
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper 2019 🏆#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/KlkfRqdFgZ
Juergen Klopp thanks his family first. He remembers the Champions League final and said it was close and Liverpool won it, which is why Pochettino was not standing with the award. He went on to congratulate Pochettino for a great season. He had only words of praise for his team Liverpool.
Congratulations, Jurgen Klopp 🙌
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Winner of #TheBest FIFA Men's Coach 2019 🏆#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/H9Qzlc2DHJ
Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan shone together at the Women's World Cup in France earlier this year and with both of them nominated for The Best Women's Player award, they are at the awards together as well.
🤩 #AlexMorgan
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) September 23, 2019
🤩 #MeganRapinoe #TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/avUyt0jCIC
Lionel Messi poses for a photograph with his family. Messi is nominated for the The Best Men's Player award and he arrived at the venue a few minutes ago.
👨👩👦👦#TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/9DBj8YqbxH
— #TheBest 🏆 (@FIFAcom) September 23, 2019
Brazilian star Marta, who has won the women's player of the year five times, met a nominee in the FIFA Fan Award.
🇧🇷🤝🇧🇷#TheBest FIFA Women's Player 2018 Marta meets fellow Brazilian Silvia Grecco, the @Palmeiras fan nominated for the FIFA Fan Award.
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) September 23, 2019
Silvia narrates matches at the stadium for her blind and autistic son Nikollas. #TheBest | #FIFAFootballAwards pic.twitter.com/AOvByd2TMg
Virgil van Dijk even said it on the green carpet that Liverpool are a team and they do everything together and so the man is happy to be in Milan nominated along with his manager Juergen Klopp and goalkeeper Alisson Becker.
“It’s also very special to be here with the gaffer and Alisson. And we’ll see what it’s going to bring us."@VirgilvDijk intends to soak up every moment of #TheBest #FIFAFootballAwards tonight 🙌
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) September 23, 2019
Roberto Carlos had some nice words for the Women's World Cup 2019: "It was the same level as the men's World Cup and the quality at display was amazing."
This year's Women's World Cup was the most successful in history and was won by the United States, starring the Women's Player nominees Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan.
Here are all the nominees of all the categories in FIFA's The Best Football Awards:
The Best Men's Player: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk.
The Best Women's Player: Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Lucy Bronze.
The Best Men's Coach: Juergen Klopp, Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola.
The Best Women's Coach: Jill Ellis, Phil Neville and Sarina Wiegman.
The Best Men's Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker, Ederson and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.
The Best Women's Goalkeeper: Christiane Endler, Hedvig Lindahl and Sari van Veenendaal.
The FIFA Puskas Award: Lionel Messi, Juan Fernando Quintero and Daniel Zsori