Lionel Messi was named the Men’s Player of the Year at the FIFA Best Awards, held in London.
The Argentine forward, who plays for Inter Miami, edged out Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Paris St-Germain attacker Kylian Mbappe to win the award for the third time.
Messi, who previously won the award in 2019 and 2022, scored nine goals for PSG as they won the French Ligue 1 title and 10 goals in seven games as Inter Miami won the inaugural Leagues Cup in the United States.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was named the Men’s Coach of the Year, ahead of Luciano Spalletti and Simone Inzaghi. Guardiola led City to a treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup titles in the 2022-23 season.
The Men’s Team of the Year included six Manchester City players: defenders John Stones, Kyle Walker, and Ruben Dias, midfielders Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, and striker Haaland. Real Madrid and England midfielder Jude Bellingham was the only English player named in the side who does not play for City.
The awards were decided by a mix of votes from national team managers and captains, journalists, and fans on FIFA’s website, with each counting for 25%. Messi and Haaland finished on the same number of points, but Messi won the award as he had more first-place nominations from national team captains. Among those who voted for Messi were Harry Kane, Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Aaron Ramsey, and Luka Modric.
The FIFA Best Awards generally cover a calendar year and are different from the Ballon d’Or awards, which reflect performances across a season. However, this year, the men’s FIFA Best Awards and Puskas Award were judged from December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023, due to the Qatar World Cup being included in last year’s ceremony.
The event took place at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, with many of the best players past and present in attendance. It was a fitting celebration of the beautiful game, recognizing the achievements of some of the greatest athletes in the sport.
