Lionel Messi, the Argentine football sensation, has once again emerged victorious, defending his FIFA Best Men’s Player Award title in London on Monday. Despite his remarkable performance in winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, which took place a day before the timeline for the 2023 awards opened, Messi’s exceptional form with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Inter Miami earned him a surprise win in 2023.
The FIFA Best Men’s Player Award, which covers the period between December 19, 2022, and August 20, 2023, saw Messi surpass Erling Haaland of Manchester City and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain. The voting process included journalists, fans, national team captains, and managers.
Although Messi, Haaland, and Mbappe were absent from the ceremony at the Eventim Apollo in London, the absence did not diminish Messi’s achievement. Former Barcelona teammate and event host, Thierry Henry, jokingly remarked, “I turned up,” referring to Messi’s absence.
Messi, who recently joined his Miami teammates in the United States for the preseason tour, has now secured a Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best double. As he continues to dominate the football world, it is expected that he will eventually pass the torch to Haaland and Mbappe when they become the frontrunners for these prestigious awards.
In other categories, Aitana Bonmati from Barcelona and Spain also achieved a Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best double, finishing ahead of Jenni Hermoso and Linda Caicedo in the Best Women’s Player category.
The winners from each category are as follows:
- Best Men’s Player: Lionel Messi (PSG, Inter Miami, Argentina)
- Best Women’s Player: Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona, Spain)
- Best Men’s Goalkeeper: Ederson (Manchester City, Brazil)
- Best Women’s Goalkeeper: Mary Earps (Manchester United, England)
- FIFPro Men’s World XI: Thibaut Courtois; John Stones, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker; Bernardo Silva, Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne; Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Vinicius Jr.
- FIFPro Women’s World XI: Mary Earps; Alex Greenwood, Lucy Bronze, Olga Carmona; Aitana Bonmati, Ella Toone, Keira Walsh; Alex Morgan, Alessia Russo, Lauren James, Samantha Kerr.
- Best Men’s Coach: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
- Best Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman (England)
- Puskas Award: Guilherme Madruga (Botafogo SP) vs. Novorizontino
- Marta Award: Introduced this year to be awarded for the best goal scored in women’s football that year in honor of the legendary Brazilian.
- FIFA Fair Play Award: Brazil men’s national team
- FIFA Fan Award: Hugo Daniel Iniguez (Colon fan from Argentina)
The 2023 FIFA Best Men’s Award has once again solidified Lionel Messi’s position as one of the greatest footballers of all time. As he prepares for the 2024 Major League Soccer campaign with Inter Miami, fans eagerly anticipate witnessing his continued brilliance on the field.