Welcome to the end-of-year awards! From best players and best teams in the men's and women's game to the best celebration of the year, I'll reveal my winners from 2024.
A reminder that these awards take only the calendar year into consideration. So even though last season plays a factor, these awards mainly pay tribute to performances and achievements over this calendar year.
Now let's begin.
Men's player of the year: VinÃcius Júnior, (Real Madrid and Brazil)
This was a tough call because in the first half of the year, Rodri's impact for club and country was gargantuan, hence his Ballon d'Or win and why I voted for him as my 2023-24 Premier League player of the season. There's an argument to make that even in his absence because of an ACL tear, his impact remains. Just look at Man City's recent struggles.
But I can't give this annual award to someone who hasn't played since September. I have to include the entire year and throughout it, I consider individual consistency. It has to be VinÃcius: the ultimate big-game player. Jude Bellingham, a Euros finalist, came close but the England midfielder's contributions to Real Madrid came early in the 2023-24 season. Lautaro MartÃnez also deserves a major mention. But it has to be Vini.
In last season's Champions League -- especially in the latter stages -- he led his club to glory. No player in the tournament produced more goals or assists in the knockout stages, including a goal in the final. In LaLiga, he missed the early parts of the 2023-24 season due to injury but once he came back, he was on fire. Twenty goal involvements in less than 1,900 league minutes (per Opta) which is wild when you consider he missed a massive chunk of the season.
This campaign? We have already seen a 30-minute hat-trick against Borussia Dortmund, ridiculous solo goals against Osasuna and Villarreal and 13 goal contributions in the league. In total, he has five trophies in the calendar year, including the recently won Intercontinental Cup over Pachuca, when he scored and assisted the opener for Kylian Mbappé.
Overall, he has 32 goals and 14 assists for Real Madrid in 2024. Yes, Brazil's failure at Copa America and issues in qualifiers are the only dents, but that's not a VinÃcius problem. That's a national one, where the team is going through a transition. Yet, he still managed to score twice in the Copa América and remains a major protagonist in every game. This has been his most successful calendar year, and at only 24 years old, there's a lot more to come.
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'A dream come true' - Vinicius Junior on FIFA Best men's award win
Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior and Carlo Ancelotti react to winning 'Men's Player' and 'Men's Coach' at The Best FIFA Football awards.
Women's player of the year: Aitana BonmatÃ, (Barcelona Femenà and Spain)
There is only one player who stands above the rest: BonmatÃ, the Barcelona star who helped her club win a historic quadruple thanks to 36 goal contributions in 41 appearances last season. During this run, she also scored in the inaugural UEFA Women's Nations League final as Spain won 2-0 against France in February.
After winning last year's Ballon d'Or, the 26-year-old Catalan star won the esteemed award once again in October's ceremony. This season, she has six goals and six assists in all competitions including a lovely goal against Man City in the Champions League, but her work can't be fully judged by stats. Bonmatà is the exemplification of a midfielder. She is selfless, smart, determined and whenever she collects the ball, time is at her mercy. She is the conductor and until the music ends, no one comes close to her symphony.
Best game of the year: Real Madrid 3-3 Manchester City (2023-24 Champions League QF first leg)
Sometimes the answer is so obvious, you shouldn't overthink it. This first leg of the tournament's final eight from last season was the epitome of European football excellence. The two last winners of the competition faced each other in Madrid and delivered a six-goal thriller. It was the second knockout match in tournament history with three goals in the opening 14 minutes. Two lead changes, some beautiful finishes including Phil Foden's majestic 66th minute equalizer, a tremendous goal from Joško Gvardiol, which was bettered only by Fede Valverde's audacious volley to make it 3-3 in the 79th minute.
This is what the Champions League is all about. Where football royalty goes kingdom against kingdom with their best warriors and we all sit back to enjoy.
Best goal of the year: Jaden Philogene vs. Hull City
OK, I know what everyone is going to say. "LME is a Villa fan, this is pure bias!"
First of all, Philogene wasn't back at Villa until this season so this isn't a Villa goal. Everyone can relax. Second. I beg you all to watch this majestic piece of art with careful detail because it is the undoubted winner. It also comes with controversy because it was initially deemed as an own goal, which to me, makes it even more worthy. But you have to examine it closely.
Rotheram's Oliver Rathbone (who now plays for Wrexham) gives away the ball in reckless fashion, which is when Philogene picks it up inside the box. Rathbone attempts to retrieve it, but that's when Philogene begins his avalanche of trickery. First he nutmegs Rathbone, who then looks to redeem himself by trying to deny a cross. Or so he thinks. Philogene fakes the cross and audaciously decides to pull out a rabona out of the bag, thus sending Rathbone to the floor and, with a slight deflection, scores.
Sit back and admire: