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Lionel Messi of Inter Miami and Argentina has been named the Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year for 2023.
The 36-year-old beat out Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe to win the award again this year.
Lionel Messi has now won the award three times since its inception in 2016, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski as the player with the most The Best FIFA Men’s Player titles.
Fans, players, managers, and journalists voted for the award, with the period under consideration beginning one day after the 2022 World Cup final, in which Messi lifted the trophy, and ending on August 20, 2023.
During that time, he helped PSG win the Ligue 1 title before moving to MLS side Inter Miami, where he quickly added the Leagues Cup to his trophy haul – the day before the voting period ended.
Messi also scored his 700th career club goal, 800th career goal in total, and 100th international goal during the eight-month period under consideration, as well as registering his 1,000th direct club goal involvement.
Lionel Messi beats Erling Haaland to Best FIFA men’s award
However, his selection as The Best FIFA Men’s Player came as a surprise given that he was up against Haaland, who scored 52 goals in 53 games to help Manchester City win the treble last season.
As Pep Guardiola’s team won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League, the Norwegian international led the charge.
Although the number of first-choice nominations from captains of the national teams was equal, Argentina’s captain was named the winner.
Mbappe, on the other hand, scored 41 goals in 43 games across all competitions for PSG in 2022-23, helping the club to the Ligue 1 title alongside Messi.
The FIFPro World XI for 2023 included six Manchester City players and three Real Madrid players.
Messi has now been named the world’s best player a record eight times by FIFA, including the two predecessors of The Best FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award, the World Player of the Year and the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
The women’s award went to Aitana Bonmati of Spain and Barcelona, who won the Women’s World Cup as well as a domestic and European treble last year.
Bonmati came in before 18-year-old Ecuadorian Linda Caicedo and international teammate Jenni Hermoso.
Bonmati led Spain to their first-ever Women’s World Cup title, winning the Golden Ball along the way, before being named Women’s Champions League Player of the Season as Barcelona won the treble.
The 25-year-old also won the Ballon d’Or for best female player last year, and her victory on Monday gave her a clean sweep of individual awards after her dream 2023.
