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Lionel Messi bags La Liga 'Player of the Month' award for the first time ever

Messi has 5 Ballons d’Or but 1 La Liga PotM award

Lionel Messi has won the La Liga ‘Player of the Month’ award for the first time ever. The Argentine becomes only the second ever Barcelona player to have ever won the award, after his Brazilian teammate Neymar had won the award earlier in the season.

Messi has been in sparkling form this January, although his haul of 6 goals in games against Granada, Athletic Bilbao, Atletico Madrid and Malaga wasn’t his best in his goal-heavy career in Barcelona. This does beg the question as to why it has taken La Liga so long to recognize Messi’s undoubted talent.

The trophy is awarded by La Liga’s main sponsors BBVA and is voted for by LaLiga.es writers, having only been created in September 2013. However, despite its recent inception, the fact that there have been 22 winners prior to him is rather staggering, despite Messi lighting up La Liga with his displays in recent seasons.

Neymar Jr created history in November

Earlier this season, Neymar had created history by becoming the first ever Barcelona player to win the La Liga ‘Player of the Month’ award. Neymar scored 6 goals in November as well, a month in which Messi was injured, thus allowing the Brazilian to flourish.

Messi’s win now takes Barcelona’s total to 2, with Atletico Madrid having 6 winners, while Real Madrid have won the award thrice as well. The list of winners is a very egalitarian one, as La Liga have attempted to spread the award among all teams, both big and small, which might be a refreshing change to some.

Here is a complete list of all La Liga ‘Player of the Month’ winners:

YearMonthAward WinnerTeam
2013SeptemberDiego CostaAtletico Madrid
2013OctoberKokeAtletico Madrid
2013NovemberCristiano RonaldoReal Madrid
2013DecemberCarlos VelaReal Sociedad
2014JanuaryIvan RakiticSevilla
2014FebruaryRafinhaCelta Vigo
2014MarchKeylor NavasLevante
2014AprilDiego GodinAtletico Madrid
2014MayDiego GodinAtletico Madrid
2014SeptemberNolitoCelta Vigo
2014OctoberKarim BenzemaReal Madrid
2014NovemberCarlos VelaReal Sociedad
2014DecemberLuciano ViettoVillareal
2015JanuaryAntoine GriezmannAtletico Madrid
2015FebruaryAlberto BuenoRayo Vallecano
2015MarchVitoloSevilla
2015AprilAntoine GriezmannAtletico Madrid
2015MayCristiano RonaldoReal Madrid
2015SeptemberNolitoCelta Vigo
2015OctoberBorja BastonEibar
2015NovemberNeymar Jr.Barcelona
2015DecemberLucas PerezDeportivo
2016JanuaryLionel MessiBarcelona
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