PES 2020, FIFA 19 Cover Star Lionel Messi Named Footballer of the Year

International football star Lionel Messi has been named FIFA Footballer of the Year based on his excellence on the pitch. The Barcelona phenomenon graces the cover of Konami’s eFootball PES 2020 as well as EA’s FIFA 19. He’s also the top player in the newest edition of FIFA 20 which will arrive this week. He now holds a record with his latest award win, surpassing one of the other greats in the game.

PES 2020 cover star Lionel Messi, Team USA’s Megan Rapinoe are top players

The PES 2020 cover star won FIFA Footballer of the Year award at FIFA’s The Best Awards, held at Teatro alla Scala, per The Guardian’s report. It gave Lionel Messi a surprising win for some, as he took the FIFA trophy rather than the UEFA Player of the Year Virgil van Dijk. Interestingly, Virgil van Dijk is amongst FIFA 20 cover stars, appearing on the Champions Edition.

It gives Messi a sixth trophy, which gives him the most amongst all footballers, surpassing another FIFA cover star, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five of the awards in his career. Messi achieved 54 goals in 58 games and led his Barcelona club to a 2018-19 league title. Here he is as he accepts his latest FIFA Footballer of the Year honor.

PES 2020 sent out a congratulatory tweet in honor of their cover star’s award win.

In addition to being cover star, Messi appears in their new PES global launch trailer, revealed earlier this month. He’ll also enter the FIFA 20 game as their top overall superstar, with a 94 overall rating, just one point ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Lionel Messi wasn’t the only winner at the awards event. Team USA star Megan Rapinoe and her coach Jill Ellis each picked up awards. Rapinoe appears in both FIFA 19 and FIFA 20 games for various modes including VOLTA Football. She won FIFA Footballer of the Year for the women, while Ellis won Women’s Coach of the Year.

Fans can use Lionel Messi in the new PES 2020 game currently available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, or the FIFA 20 game arriving this week for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PCs.

See more of our latest FIFA news including PES updates for these games.