It may lack the glamor and prestige of the Ballon d'Or, but FIFA's top awards still make headlines every year.
The ceremony took place on Tuesday 18 December as players and coaches were handed out awards, with Vinicius Junior avenging his rejection of the Ballon d'Or selecting the FIFA Men's Player of the Year for the 2024 calendar year.
The Brazilian beat the last Ballon d'Or champion, Rodri, as well as Jude Bellingham, Dani Carvajal, Lamine Yamal and others. It was a first triumph for the Real Madrid winger, who was voted for by a mix of national team captains and coaches, journalists and supporters.
While Vinicius was a worthy winner of FIFA's top prize in men's football, there were some votes that raised a few eyebrows.
Voting for individual football awards often sees teammates and countrymen stand together and support each other. Apparently, this memo was not passed on to England captain and Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane, who decided not to give his international relatives the go-ahead. Bellingham first place in his top three votes.
Kane only put Bellingham in second place, with Rodri taking first place and winner Vinicius third. England's record goalscorer chose the winning podium, even if all his selections were out of order.
Bellingham secured bronze in FIFA's best player voting after a sensational calendar year with Real Madrid. He won La Liga and the Champions League with Los Blancos while helping England reach the Euro 2024 final.
Lionel Messi it doesn't take much to be shortlisted for football's top awards these days. The little wizard, who has won the Ballon d'Or a record eight times, triumphed at the Copa America in 2024, but was arguably not among the 11 best male footballers in the world.
This was perhaps a sentiment shared by Argentinian journalist Claudio Mauri, who did not vote for Messi in his top three. Instead he chose Rodri, Lamine Yamal and Toni Kroos.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni voted for Messi, putting him in first place, and the World Cup-winning coach wasn't alone. However, Messi did not trouble the top five in the end, finishing in sixth place.
Messi himself voted for teenager Yamal in first place, with his links to Barcelona likely to have influenced his decision.
Erling Haaland was one of the least popular options among voters, finishing eighth after a slightly underwhelming 2024 by his incredibly high standards. The Manchester City striker won the Premier League and finished as the division's top scorer in the 2023/24 season, but was overshadowed by team-mate Rodri.
Apparently, Norway and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard felt the same way. He placed his fellow international in third place, placing Rodri and Vinicius ahead of him, with Norway manager Stale Solbakken placing Haaland second.
Haaland was also rejected for first place by Norwegian media representative Morten Pedersen, who, like Odegaard, chose him third.
You'd be forgiven for thinking that international managers only watch football for a few months of the year based on the best vote. Many national team bosses won the odd three rankings, none more so than Switzerland coach Murat Yakin.
A back three of Florian Wirtz (1st), Federico Valverde (2nd) and Lamine Yamal (3rd) will have surprised very few, with Rodri and Vinicius both ignored.
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann unsurprisingly picked Germans Wirtz and Toni Kroos, leaving out Vinicius as a result, while Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco picked Yamal, Wirtz and Haaland as his three favourites.
There are some questionable decisions.