Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar: The players with the most MOTM awards in a season since 2009 | OneFootball

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the like are no strangers to shocking the world with game-winning, stunning solo performances.

In fact, there’s very few players in the world of football who are quite as clutch as those two. Their freakish record setting, mesmerising footballing abilities and countless carry jobs over the years are testament to that.

But they aren’t the only two capable of taking a game by the scruff of the neck. A ‘player of the match’ is always crowned at the end of every contest, and often constitutes a stellar showing from someone who’s stolen the show on the field.

It’s those game-changing performances that we remember forever as fans. In normal circumstances, anyway.

When considering the simply ridiculous amount of ‘man of the match’ worthy performances Messi and Ronaldo have put in over the years, it’s understandably difficult to lose track of them. The pair are just so endlessly capable of gracing a game with a sprinkle of magic and doing extraordinary things, which is what makes them two of the greatest players ever.

The ‘man of the match’ prize in the men’s game is an award that any player loves to win, no matter what level we’re discussing. From grassroots to those Champions League nights, there is no better feeling than putting in a player of the match worthy performance.

Over on Twitter, the folks at @ThePopFoot have put together a table of research which displays the most ‘man of the match’ awards won in a single season in the men’s game since 2009. And it makes for frightening reading, seeing how dominant one footballer can be over the course of a season.

Don’t just take our word for it – be sure to check it out for yourself below.

The players with the most MOTM awards in a season since 2009

Absolute domination from the little Argentine, who features 11 times out of the 20 seasons listed and occupies every single spot in the top eight.

There’s being a game changer, and then there’s Messi. As usual, he’s putting up numbers that nobody can get near – not even Ronaldo’s best effort of 19 MOTM awards from 47 games in 2014/15 can break Messi’s brilliance.

In the same, 2014/15 season, Messi was absolutely unplayable as he fired Barcelona to a treble. He scored 58 goals and racked up 30 assists in all competitions, being named MOTM 34 times in a single season. Freakish.

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His 2011/12 campaign runs a close second with 32 MOTM awards won from 47. Messi scored an even more unfathomable 73 goals in all competitions that season, and would go on to net a record 91 goals for the calendar year of 2012.

Elsewhere, Neymar’s debut campaign with Paris Saint-Germain following a world record £198 million transfer was ‘only’ good enough to make 14th overall in the table, racking up 16 MOTM awards from 27 appearances.

Ronaldo features four times but cannot get anywhere near his footballing rival, while Eden Hazard, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Nabil Fekir and Gerard Moreno all feature also.

Hazard’s final season at Chelsea proved to be his most effective as he racked up 16 MOTM awards from 36 games before leaving for Real Madrid, while Ibrahimovic made his final season in Paris count, racking up the same amount in 39 games.

Credit goes to Fekir and Moreno for merely managing to feature in a list that is so star-studded. To be a consistent match winner takes sublime skill and to even rack up one season with such a number of MOTM awards is seriously impressive enough in itself.

But, the plaudits go to Messi in this one. While he underwhelmed in his debut season for PSG, it was merely a reminder that he is human, despite the stats above suggesting otherwise, and that his powers will fade eventually.

We must appreciate Messi’s brilliance while it lasts. And with a difficult first season in Paris now behind him, don’t be surprised if he recovers some of his best form this season.