Lionel Messi has won 11 Player of the Match awards at the World Cup, more than any player in the competition's history. The award has only existed since 2002, chosen by a FIFA panel in its early years and by an online fan vote since 2010, so every name here belongs to the modern era. No one else has even reached eight, which shows how far clear Messi sits at the top.
These are the players who turned up time and again on the biggest stage, often deciding knockout ties on their own, which is why their names feature so heavily in tournament retrospectives and across World Cup betting coverage built around individual form. The gap between first and second is a wide one.
In this article, we count down the players with the most Player of the Match awards in World Cup history.
Lionel Messi
Messi won his 11 awards across four tournaments, in 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022. He took one each in 2010 and 2018, four in 2014 on the run to the final, and a record five in 2022 as Argentina lifted the trophy. Those five in Qatar also stand as the most any player has won at a single World Cup. His total spans a 12-year window and reflects sustained excellence rather than one standout summer, with no other player coming within four of his tally.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo sits second with seven, won across the 2006 to 2022 editions. He collected his seventh in Portugal's 2022 opener against Ghana, the game in which he became the first man to score at five different World Cups. Portugal never went beyond the quarter-finals across that period, which makes his individual return all the more notable given how his sides performed around him.
Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben is third with six, all won across three tournaments in 2006, 2010, and 2014. He was central to the Netherlands teams that finished runners-up in 2010 and third in 2014, scoring in both campaigns and causing problems for defenders throughout. His best run came in 2014, when the Dutch reached the semifinals. They failed to qualify for 2018, which closed his World Cup career on six and left him a single award behind Ronaldo.
The three players tied on five
Behind them, three more share fifth place with five awards each. Kylian Mbappe reached the mark across the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, finishing the second as the World Cup's top scorer despite France losing the final to Argentina.
Luka Modric also won five across 2018 and 2022, claiming the Golden Ball in 2018 as Croatia reached the final, then the Bronze Ball four years later at the age of 37. Luis Suarez completes the group, his five coming across 2010, 2014, and 2018 for Uruguay, including their run to the semifinals in 2010.
The award has become a useful shorthand for a player's impact at a tournament, which is why it surfaces in everything from end-of-tournament debate to football odds and previews ahead of each World Cup.