The man of the match award (or MOTM) in football is now one of the important aspects of modern-day football matches.
In this article, you’ll get to understand the meaning, how it is decided, and everything necessary you need to know about the award.
What Is The MOTM Award?
Simply put, the Man of the Match Award is given to a player deemed to have the best overall performance.
Being chosen as the best player on the field must be a feeling of great satisfaction.
However, there are a few facts about the MOTM award:
- The award is never part of the core rules of football.
- The MOTM award today is born out of what we can call “football evolution or modernization”.
- There are no specific rules or criteria for the award.
- Some competitions opt out of the award completely and it is entirely optional.
But let’s go and find out how exactly it is decided.
Read More: How Does The English Championship Playoffs Work?
Criteria For Man of The Match Award
As mentioned before, there are no specific rules or criteria for choosing the man of the match award. However, they following criteria are generally used:
- Match-winning goal
- Masterclass Defending And Goalkeeping
- Overall Performance
- Match-winning Side.
Consider Reading: Why Soccer Players Kiss Each Other, The Trophy or Their Wrist
Match-winning Goals
Of course, goal contributions are a vital component in winning the man of the match award, it will be the thing that everyone will talk about after and will be remembered.
Another key factor is the goal’s worth.
Scoring 2 and losing 5-2 means nothing at the end of the day, but scoring in the 90th minute to snatch a 1-0 win and you will be hailed as a hero no matter the rest of the performance.
At the end of the day, the fans love a goal scorer, and the number 9 will always be a favorite if he scores in the game.
That is why there will always be slight inaccuracy in the award – it slightly favors goalscorers.
But entertainment is why football is so loved. So that’s why we love seeing these moments of entertainment.
Consider Reading: Ranking: The 10 Best Manchester City Players of All Time
Masterclass Defending And Goalkeeping
Top-class defending and Goalkeeping is another yardstick for winning the Man of the Match Award.
But as a defender or Goalkeeper, you’d always need a real match-saving performance.
It does really have to be ten out of ten games to win the award at the back.
But when the attack isn’t firing and defence is on top, individual brilliance is recognized by defence.
More recently Aaron Ramsdale won it for his picturesque saves against Leicester.
Also, Virgil Van Dijk won the MOTM award for his solid display versus Crystal Palace just to name a few.
Consider Reading: Why Do Soccer Players Fake Injuries?
Overall Performance
Sounds like an obvious one, but you would be surprised how many class performances go unnoticed by the man of the match award.
Nonetheless, the overall performance of a player should be a deciding factor in choosing the MOTM award winner.
Overall performance could include scoring, assisting, defending, work rate, etc.
Read Also: How The UEFA FFP Rule Work
Match-winning Side
Ideally, the man of the match award should go to a player from the winning team. It’ll be really weird to see an award given to a player from the losing team.
However, in some rare situations, there are obvious cases where a player from the losing team outshines the eventual award winner.
In most cases, this happens when the dominant team loses.
Read Also: The Biggest Upset League Title Wins in Football
Who Decides The Man of The Match Award?
In most cases, the Man of the Match Award in football is decided by the Broadcasting Pundit or a Sponsor.
Some times, two different players may win the award for the same match depending on the awardee.
Let’s shed more light.
MOTM Award By Broadcasting Pundit
In this case, one of the TV pundits would talk through the options toward the end of the game and pick a winner.
Most times, he chooses the most impactful player (based on the above-mentioned general criteria) from the winning team.
The eventual winner would then be announced over the stadium tannoy system.
However, in some cases, the award winner announced over the stadium tannoy system is different from one awarded by the broadcasting Pundit (what you see on Tv).
Read Also: FIFA Ranking: How FIFA Ranks Each Country Every Month
MOTM Award By A Sponsor
Sometimes, the Man of the Match award in football is decided by (or associated with) a specific sponsor (or a Brand).
A typical example is the Budweiser King of The Match Award in the Premier League which is decided by fans voting.
However, there could be some discrepancies if the sponsors are to choose the award winner.
Brands or sponsors are in it for business, so they’ll most likely select a footballer who is the most marketable player with decent performance – not necessarily the best-performing footballer on the pitch.
This defeats the purpose of the award in the first place.
Top 20 Players With The Most Man of The Match Awards (All Competitions)
See below a list of 20 players who have won the MOTM award the most since 2009.
| SN | Name | Number of Career MOTM Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 306 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 175 |
| 3 | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 116 |
| 4 | Eden Hazard | 100 |
| 5 | Neymar | 87 |
| 6 | Robert Lewandowski | 86 |
| 7 | Harry Kane | 79 |
| 8 | Kevin De Bruyne | 76 |
| 9 | 9. Gareth Bale | 73 |
| 10 | Luis Suarez | 72 |
| 11 | Antoine Griezmann | 70 |
| 12 | Karim Benzema | 70 |
| 13 | Dimitri Payet | 67 |
| 14 | Memphis Depay | 66 |
| 15 | Alexis Sanchez | 64 |
| 16 | Gonzalo Higuain | 60 |
| 17 | Nabil Fekir | 58 |
| 18 | Kylian Mbappe | 57 |
| 19 | Arjen Robben | 57 |
| 20 | Paul Pogba | 57 |
[Note that when there is a tie, players who have played fewer matches win the tie and that determines the order of the above list.]
In essence, Lionel Messi has won the most Man of the match awards in football.
Who has the most MOTM award in Champions League?
Lionel Messi has the most MOTM award in the Champions League since 2009.
The Argentine superstar has amassed a total of 64 MOTM awards in the Champions League.
See below the top 5 players with the most MOTM awards in the Champions League.
| SN | Name | Number of Champions League MOTM Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 64 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 40 |
| 3 | Neymar | 23 |
| 4 | Robert Lewandowski | 19 |
| 5 | Karim Benzema | 13 |
Who has the most Motm awards in Premier League?
Eden Hazard has won the most MOTM awards in the Premier League with 62 in total.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane is just 3 awards shy of the matching Hazard’s record.
See below a list of the top 10 players with the most MOTM awards in the Premier League.
| SN | Name | Number PL MOTM Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eden Hazard | 62 |
| 2 | Harry Kane | 59 |
| 3 | Kevin De Bruyne | 44 |
| 4 | Sergio Aguero | 39 |
| 5 | Robin van Persie | 34 |
| 6 | Mohamed Salah | 34 |
| 7 | Sadio Mane | 34 |
| 8 | Christian Benteke | 34 |
| 9 | Alexis Sanchez | 31 |
| 10 | Riyad Mahrez | 31 |
[Note that when there is a tie, players who have played fewer matches win the tie and that determines the order of the above list.]
Who has most Motm in La Liga?
Lionel Messi has the most Man of the Match Award in La Liga history. The Barcelona legend won the award 227 times.
The closest player to Messi is Cristiano Ronaldo and he won the award just 93 times.
See below the top 10 players with the most MOTM awards in LaLiga.
| SN | Name | Number LaLiga MOTM Awards |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 227 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 93 |
| 3 | Karim Benzema | 53 |
| 4 | Iago Aspas | 49 |
| 5 | Antoine Griezmann | 49 |
| 6 | Gerard Moreno | 44 |
| 7 | Dani Parejo | 39 |
| 8 | Luis Suarez | 34 |
| 9 | Aritz Aduriz | 32 |
| 10 | Raul Garcia | 31 |
Who is the most man of the match Award Winner in World Cup history?
Wesley Sneijder, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi all have won the World Cup Man of the Match awards the most – 6 times each.
No other player(s) have won as many.
| SN | Player Name | World Cup MOTM awards won | Total WC matches played |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wesley Sneijder | 6 | 17 |
| 2 | Cristiano Ronaldo | 6 | 17 |
| 3 | Lionel Messi | 6 | 19 |
[Note that when there is a tie, players who have played fewer matches and fewer minutes win the tie and that determines the order of the above list.]
Does man of the match get money?
The Man of the Match does not get money. Instead, they get just an award as prize for their outstanding performance.
The nature, color, or design of the award depends on the competition and sponsor.
For example, in the Premier League, the man of the match winner gets a small black and gold trophy.
In the Champions League, it is a silver and blue ball-like award in resemblance of the competition logo.
Further Reading:
- Messi vs Lewandowski: Why Messi Deserves the Ballon d’Or 2021 Award
- The Best International Footballers At Each Position Ever
- Is Pogba World Class or Simply Overrated?
- Football Contracts Explained: How Football Contracts Work?
- How Is Ball Possession REALLY Calculated in Football?
