Argentinian forward Lionel Messi secured the men’s player of the year at the Fifa Best Awards in London.
Inter Miami’s Messi edged out competition from Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Paris St-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, who finished second and third, respectively. Meanwhile, Manchester City’s manager, Pep Guardiola, claimed the men’s coach prize. In the goalkeeper category, City’s Ederson received the award, surpassing Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Al Hilal’s Yassine Bounou.
Lionel Messi, 36, who began 2023 at Paris St-Germain before moving to Inter Miami in June, secured the best men’s player award for the third time, having previously won in 2019 and 2022. Messi 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.
Erling Haaland, who netted a record 36 Premier League goals last season, finished as the runner-up. Kylian Mbappe, a key figure in PSG’s Ligue 1 triumph, secured the third spot. The winners were decided through a combination of votes from national team managers, captains, journalists, and fans on Fifa’s website, with each counting for 25%.
The voting results showed Messi and Haaland finishing with the same number of points, but Messi secured the award as he had more first-place nominations from national team captains.
The men’s Fifa Best Awards, along with the Puskas Award, were judged based on performances from December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023, this year, including the Qatar World Cup in last year’s ceremony. The event took place at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, attracting a host of past and present football stars.
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