Lionel Messi and Megan Rapinoe can call themselves taller than their peers after winning one more individual award this year, as both were handed out the Best Playmaker Award by the IFFHS.
90 journalists from around the world voted for their favorite playmakers, and the results came in a few hours ago. Messi defeated the competition by a landslide to win his fourth award of the sort, while Rapinoe's impressive year both on and off the pitch helped her in her quest to win the award.
Messi claimed the award with 299 votes, with Kevin de Bruyne in a distant second place. The difference between these players saw Messi claim the trophy with an impressive 214-point margin. In fact, you would need to add the votes for the first eight players that are not named Lionel Messi to surpass the Argentine's tally.
This was Messi's fourth win in this category, following his triumphs in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Speaking about Megan Rapinoe, the North American star had quite a year, which was capped with her first IFFHS Best Playmaker of the Year Award. "Pinoe" claimed the award by defeating last year's winner, Dzseniffer Marozsan, by 97 points. Brazilian legend Marta, winner of the first award in 2012, concluded the vote in third place.
