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In 2002, 72 years after the FIFA World Cup’s inauguration, the committee decided to officially recognize the outstanding performer in every match of the tournament. In the first two iterations (2002, 2006), a technical committee chose the Man of the Match (MOTM) award winners. Since 2010, that power has been transferred to viewers, with the winners being selected via an online poll on FIFA's website.
Five-time FIFA World Cup winners Brazil and four-time world champions Germany are tied at the top when it comes to the most MOTM awards won by a single nation. Both heavyweights have won 22 Man of the Match Awards each, but Brazil have the edge when it comes to different award winners. While the Selecao have seen 14 of their players win the Man of the Match award, the 2014 FIFA World Cup winners have had 12 individual winners.
The FIFA World Cup Man of the Match Award has been won by some of the most revered names in the business in the last 20 years. Before the statistics change in Qatar, we will quickly check out the five world-class players who have bagged the most Man of the Match Awards in FIFA World Cup history.
Let’s get to it!
Stats: HITC
#5 Eden Hazard (Belgium) — 4 wins
Having bagged four Man of the Match awards, Belgium skipper Eden Hazard is tied for fifth place with 2014 World Cup winner Miroslav Klose and five others. Alongside Hazard and Klose, Colombia’s James Rodriguez, Japan’s Keisuke Honda, Germany’s Thomas Muller, Netherlands’ Wesley Sneijder, and South Korea’s Park Ji-sung have also won it four times.
Hazard, who bagged the Man of the Match awards in 2014 and 2018, has historically been Belgium’s most consistent performer at the FIFA World Cup. The Real Madrid man has played in 11 World Cup matches, scoring thrice and claiming four assists. Granted how little he has played for Los Blancos this season (229 mins, six matches), it will be interesting to see if he can fire on all cylinders in Qatar.
#4 Luis Suarez (Uruguay) — 5 wins
Uruguayan sharpshooter Luis Suarez has bagged five Man of the Match awards at the FIFA World Cup thus far. The former Barcelona man won his accolades across three World Cup iterations: 2010, 2014, and 2018.
Suarez, who is widely hailed as one of the best strikers of the 21st century, is competing in his fourth World Cup in Qatar this year. While he has not competed at the highest level since leaving Atletico Madrid in July, he remains an important piece in Uruguay’s puzzle.
Suarez has been a force to be reckoned with at the FIFA World Cup, scoring seven times and providing four assists in 13 matches. The former Liverpool man’s big-game experience could greatly help Uruguay in the knockout rounds of the tournament.
#3 Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) — 6 wins
The leading goalscorer in the history of men’s international football (117 strikes in 191 matches), Cristiano Ronaldo has historically thrived at the FIFA World Cup. The Manchester United superstar has bagged six Man of the Match Awards thus far (2010, 2014, 2018), which serves as a testament to his consistency in the tournament.
The Portuguese skipper, who helped his country to their first major trophy, the European Championship, in 2016, is competing in his fifth World Cup in Qatar. If the 37-year-old scores in what is likely to be his final FIFA World Cup, he would become the first-ever player to score in five different editions of the tournament.
Ronaldo has thus far scored seven times and claimed two assists in 17 World Cup games. He needs three more goals to become Portugal’s top scorer at the World Cup finals, eclipsing the legendary Eusebio, who scored nine times.
#2 Lionel Messi (Argentina) — 6 wins
Tied with his arch-rival Ronaldo, Lionel Messi also has six Man of the Match award wins at the FIFA World Cup. The Argentina skipper has won six of his awards across the last three iterations of the tournament: 2010, 2014, and 2018. Messi is tied with Sneijder when it comes to most Man of the Match award wins in a single edition. Both superstars won the award four times, with Messi claiming them in 2014 and Sneijder in 2010.
Messi, 35, is playing in his fifth and possibly his final FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Two-time World Cup winners La Albicelste are seen as one of the favorites to lift the trophy in Qatar. And Messi, who’s been in scorching form for Paris Saint-Germain this season, is set to lead the charge from the front. The Argentinian has recorded 12 goals and 14 assists in 19 appearances for PSG this season.
Messi, who helped Argentina to the 2014 World Cup final, has historically fared well at the tournament. The Barcelona legend has thus far played 19 World Cup games, scoring six times and providing five assists.
#1 Arjen Robben (Netherlands) — 6 wins
With six Man of the Match award wins across three FIFA World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014), Arjen Robben sits pretty at the top of this list. The 2010 World Cup finalist was often unstoppable for the Netherlands, scoring mesmerizing goals and creating goalscoring opportunities for his teammates as well.
The former winger, who scored 37 goals and provided 34 assists in 97 games before his retirement in 2017, was one of Holland’s best performers at the 2010 World Cup. Over the course of the tournament, he scored two goals and claimed two assists. Had it not been for Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas’ heroics in the final in South Africa, Robben probably would have been the difference maker for the Dutch.
Overall, the former Bayern Munich attacker took part in 15 FIFA World Cup matches in his career, scoring six times and claiming six assists.
