What’s the story?
Lionel Messi and awards go hand in hand as the Argentine wizard is one of the best players to ever grace the football field. The 29-year-old has now won the Best Playmaker of 2016 award for his overall contribution to club and country by the International Federation of Football, History and Statistics.
The IFFHS made the results public yesterday which saw Messi win this prestigious award for the second consecutive time in his career as he beat the likes of Andres Iniesta and Toni Kroos to the prize.
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In case you didn’t know
IFFHS started this award in 2006 and it has been completely dominated by La Liga players ever since. Zinedine Zidane, the current Real Madrid manager was the first recipient of this accolade back in 2006 followed by Kaka who won it the following year.
Subsequently, there was a Messi-Ronaldo type of domination for this award as FC Barcelona's duo of Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta won it in tandem. Toni Kroos broke the monopoly in 2014 before Messi won it last season.
The heart of the matter
This award is decided by votes from 56 countries from five different continents. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Messi, won it handsomely this year as he received a staggering 172 points. His teammate Iniesta came in second with 66 points followed by Toni Kroos with 45 points.
Also read: FC Barcelona release video of Lionel Messi magic during Youth Academy days
Arsenal's Mesut Ozil was the highest ranked Premier League player with 39 points. Riyadh Mahrez and Dimitri Payet were surprise inclusions as the duo were rewarded for their supreme performances at the club level. Surprisingly, 2016 Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo does not feature on this list as he failed to receive even a single point from the voters.
Let's take a look at the full list released by the IFFHS for the best playmakers of 2016 -
#1 Lionel Messi (ARG/FC Barcelona) - 172 points
#2 Andrés Iniesta (Spain/FC Barcelona) - 66
#3 Toni Kroos (GER/Real Madrid CF) - 45
#4 Mesut Özil (GER/Arsenal FC) - 39
#5 Riyad Mahrez (ALG/Leicester City FC) - 36
#5 Luka Modric (CRO/Real Madrid CF) - 36
#7 Kevin De Bruyne (BEL/Manchester City FC) - 31
#8 Paul Pogba (FRA/Juventus/Manchester United) - 26
#9 Eden Hazard (BEL/Chelsea FC) - 14
#10 Dimitri Payet (FRA/West Ham United) 8
#11 David Silva (Spain/Manchester City) - 5
#12 Neymar (Brasil/FC Barcelona) - 3
#13 Marek Hamsik (Slovakia/Nápoles) - 3
#14 Thiago Alcántara (Spain/FC Bayern) - 1
#15 Javier Pastore (ARG/PSG) - 1
Sportskeeda’s take
Despite failing to capture trophies this year, Messi has gone on to show his prowess for club and country which is clearly evident from his goals and assists tally. Cristiano Ronaldo might have outperformed him this year but the Argentine maestro has shown that he is still a force to be reckoned with in Europe.
