EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Kylian Mbappé kept the Golden Boot award and Spain wouldn’t let Lionel Messi get anything else.
Shortly after winning the World Cup title Sunday, the Spaniards claimed all three individual player awards, keeping Messi from leaving with any more personal hardware.
Rodri won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, Unai Simón won the Golden Glove for the top performance by a goalkeeper, and Pau Cubarsí won the Best Young Player Award, beating out fellow 19-year-old teammate Lamine Yamal.
Messi was hoping to win a record-extending third Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. He’s already the only player to win the award multiple times since it was first given in 1978, and sparking Argentina’s run to a second straight final at age 39 gave him a strong case for another.
But the award went to Rodri for captaining Spain’s run to its second World Cup title after the Manchester City midfielder struggled early after returning in May 2025 from knee surgery that sidelined him eight months.
“For me, it’s been a very tough time. I just want the new generation to see my example as an opportunity to that if you go down, you can rise again,” he said. “This is my philosophy my entire life. Of course, sometimes things go well, things go wrong. But always the positive.”
Rodri had no goals or assists in the tournament, but he was critical to Spain’s possession-heavy style of play. He completed more passes than anyone (753) with 94% accuracy. He was involved in 1,803 plays, according to FIFA stats, nearly 200 more than anyone else in this World Cup. Rodri became just the 11th man to win the World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and Ballon d’Or.
FIFA says the Golden Ball was awarded to the best player in the tournament based on a ranking compiled by the FIFA Technical Study Group. Messi won the Silver Ball and Mbappé the Bronze Ball.
Simón set a record with his seven shutouts in the tournament, allowing just one goal in eight games. Cubarsí, the Barcelona defender, helped anchor Spain’s record-setting defensive effort.
He and Yamal became the first teenagers to start for the winning team in the World Cup final since Mbappé was also 19 won France won the 2018 title.
Mbappé totaled 10 goals and four assists for a France team that finished fourth. Messi ended up with eight goals and four assists after going without a goal or an assist Sunday for the first time in his last 12 World Cup games.
The Golden Boot is one of the few things Messi has never won in his storied career, but he went into the final weekend with the lead. Both Messi and Mbappé had eight goals through the semifinals, but Messi owned the tiebreaker with one more assist.
Mbappé then scored two goals and had an assist Saturday in France’s 6-4 loss to England in the third-place game, making him the first player with 10 goals in a World Cup since Germany great Gerd Müller had 10 in 1970. Mbappé has 22 career World Cup goals, one better than Messi for the tournament record.
___
