LIONEL MESSI IS MARKED THE BEST PLAYER IN FIFA WORLD CUP AHEAD OF CRISTIANO RONALDO.

Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi was named as the Fifa World Player of the Year at the Best Fifa Football Awards in Milan on Monday night. Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk was heavily tipped to win the award after guiding Liverpool to the Champions League title but La Liga winner Messi pipped the Dutchman and Cristiano Ronaldo to the main award of the evening, replacing Luka Modric as the reigning best male player, to earn a record sixth title. Van Dijk’s manager Klopp had earlier been chosen as the Best Men’s Coach ahead of fellow Premier League managers Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino, while team-mate Alisson Becker was crowned as Best Goalkeeper ahead of Ederson and Marc Andre Ter Stegen.