A new list revealing the top 10 players with the best percentage of man of the match awards per game over the last 15 years has emerged, and Lionel Messi leads the way by a distance.
Looking at data posted by statistics expert @ThePopFoot on X from across Europe's top five leagues - England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France - Messi won an astonishing 324 man of the match awards in 628 games for Barcelona and PSG, meaning he was voted the best player on the pitch in 51.6 per cent of the matches he played.
He will not be able to add to his tally after moving to the US to play for David Beckham's Inter Miami, but these numbers further highlight why he is an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and arguably the greatest player ever.
One man who may dispute that is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions himself.
He takes second spot on this list, but has been left trailing in Messi's wake, having won 176 man of the match awards in 612 matches for Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus - a percentage per game of 28.8.
Ronaldo is now playing in Saudi Arabia, and another star who has moved to the Middle East in the last 12 months has claimed the final place on the podium.
Brazilian playmaker Neymar won man of the match in 26.8 per cent of the games he played for Barcelona and PSG (90 out of 336 games) before joining Al-Hilal last summer.
He is currently sidelined with a serious knee injury and is not expected to play again until next season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic (24.2 per cent) and Kylian Mbappe (24 per cent) complete the top five, before we move on to arguably the two best strikers in the world right now.
Erling Haaland is sixth in the rankings, having already won 39 man of the match awards at the age of 23.
He scored 52 goals across all competitions for Manchester City last term as they won the Treble for the first time in their history.
Haaland is followed by Harry Kane in seventh. The England captain has taken home 98 man of the match gongs in 463 appearances for Tottenham and Bayern Munich (21.2 per cent).
Since moving to Germany in August, he has scored 28 goals in just 27 matches for Thomas Tuchel's side.
He is also the second-highest goalscorer in Premier League history behind Alan Shearer, having netted 213 times in England's top flight for Spurs.
Two retired players sit in eighth and 10th in the shape of Arjen Robben (20.3 per cent) and Eden Hazard (19.2 per cent), and they are separated by City's Kevin De Bruyne (19.3 per cent).
De Bruyne has recently returned to City's starting XI after a serious hamstring injury and has picked up where he left off, registering a goal and four assists in four matches.
He has been the club's standout player under Pep Guardiola for the best part of a decade, helping City win five league titles and the Champions League.
besic
677
Whatever the case this man is the Goatπ
itz_me_ojei
666
π¨DID YOU KNOW: Leo Messi is the only player in football history to win the best Goalscorer Award (Golden Boot) and the best Playmaker Award (IFFHS) in the same year, and he did it twice. π³π₯ βΎοΈ Leo Messi (2017) ππ βΎοΈ Leo Messi (2019) ππ The most complete player ever, Leo Messi! ππ¦π·
Harshit1
528
Add Zlatans and Ronaldo's MOTM's and Messi still end's up having more than them. The GOAT
Peaceking1234
502
Many players and clubs haven't even had a Treble before but there is LEO who has TREBLES UPON TREBLESπ―πππ , G.O.A.Tππ Thingsπ€
ManUtdAmadDialo
489
No matter how he Nd his fan boys brags he wil always be behind Messi..!π
MESSI is infinity...!π
itz_me_ojei
372
π¨DID YOU KNOW: Leo Messi is the only player in football history to be Man of the Match in seven major finals. π³π₯ βΎοΈ World Cup Final β βΎοΈ Champions League Final β βΎοΈ Finalissima β βΎοΈ Club World Cup Final β βΎοΈ Copa del Rey Final β βΎοΈ French Supercup β βΎοΈ UEFA Supercup β The greatest of all time in football history, Leo Messi! ππ¦π·
FemiBalogun
290
And Ronaldo is the only player in history to won every FIFA and UEFA individual awards in a single season CR7 take it ALL in 2008. GOAT EFFECT πͺπͺπͺ
F-legend
164
The reason why messi have the most MOTM is because he is a true playmaker
JoeySarpong
156
Wait ,ποΈ Don't scroll yet , have u seen these 5 award holding the goatπ ,yes these are 5 man of the match awards He won at the 2022 world π cupπ alone consecutively π₯. Who knows the number of Man of the match he won overall at national level.Now the stats says it all for who is goat.
EmmanuelKlicheeJr
115
The π just laugh
The_Truth
83
From this list, which has more strikers than anyone, it is clear that winning an MOTM is easy for a striker and hard for playmakers. The two names at the top, Messi and Neymar, are extremely exceptional, and so they made the list. Ronaldo, playing as No 9 and a lot of hattriks and braces with Penalty and tapins, has won it many times, still the Playmaker Messi has his double amout. That's why we say Messi is not on this planet. That is, even if a striker missed tonnes chances but scores a penalty brace, most often than not, he is gonna be the MOTM. Meanwhile, it's literally hard for playmakers who play in a deeper role. However, Messi's number's defies description.
Kadckmn
9
Whatever the case this man is the Goatπ
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π€£π€£ no wc cry more