Which prestigious award Lionel Messi awaits that Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski have won? - Know here

The record seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi has swept multiple awards in the FIFA World Cup 2022 final. Apart from the World Cup trophy, the Argentina captain bagged the Golden Ball and the Player of the Match award in Qatar. However, Messi is missing one prestigious award in his incredible collection, which was last won by Poland striker Robert Lewandowski.

Despite his endless achievements in football, Messi has never won the European award that was previously won by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Andres Iniesta among others.

The European award is named, the Golden Foot, which can be won only once and awarded to the players above the age of 28. The award was first given in 2003 to the Italian midfield legend Roberto Baggio and a total of 20 players have won the award. The 34-year-old Robert Lewandowski won the award in 2022.

After receiving the award, the Barcelona striker said, " I’m very happy, I’m very proud. For me, it’s a huge honour to win this award because I know how hard I’ve had to work for this and now I can be proud of myself.  If you see the list of the names, the winners of this trophy, it makes me even more proud. "

Check the full list of the Golden Foot winners:

Lionel Messi has been eligible to claim the award for seven years now starting from 2016, but unable to win the award yet as many believe the PSG star will win the award next year.  The Golden Foot is given to the best player in the calendar year voted by journalists.