After winning his eighth Ballon d’Or award in 2023 due to captaining Argentina to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi also added The Best FIFA Men’s Player award to his list of accolades in the calendar year of 2023. The 36-year-old ex-Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain edged out fierce competitors in Erling Haaland from Norway and Manchester City and Kylian Mbappé from France and PSG in his win in last night’s ceremony, and it was his third triumph in The Best FIFA Men’s Player award, having also collected the individual honour back in 2019 and 2022 in addition to three runners-up finishes in 2016, 2017 and 2021 as well as a third-placed run in 2020.
Was Messi the Rightful Winner of The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award 2023?
Despite winning the FIFA World Cup as the captain of La Albiceleste, La Pulga was heavily bashed when he won his eighth Ballon d’Or in the 2023 ceremony, as football experts and fans thought that the award should have gone to Haaland instead, the striker who scored 52 goals in 53 games in all competitions for the continental treble-winning Manchester City.
Similar to the Ballon d’Or situation, Messi, who only had 21 and 11 goals for PSG and Inter Miami CF in the 2022/2023 Season and 2023, collected The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2023 by beating Haaland and former club teammate Mbappé, who had better individual performances throughout the season and the calendar year. Interestingly, Messi was tied with Haaland for the most points in The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2023, and the Argentine only won the award with a tie-breaker of having the most votes from men’s national team captains (13 against 11).
Also Read: Unpopular Opinion: Lionel Messi Did Not Deserve His Eighth Ballon d’Or in the 2023 Ceremony
Who Voted Messi for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award 2023?
Let us take a look at notable men’s national team captains who voted Messi and Haaland at first place respectively now. Skippers who had the 36-year-old Argentine in their top spot were Mbappé (France), Luka Modrić (Croatia), Harry Kane (England), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Christian Pulisic (The United States of America), etc., whereas Haaland was supported by the likes of İlkay Gündoğan (Germany), Casemiro (Brazil) and Martin Ødegaard (Norway). It is worth mentioning that Messi, who was competing Haaland for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award in 2023, voted the Norway international in his list as the Argentina national team captain.
🚨 Leo Messi’s vote for the best men’s player :
1. Erling Haaland
2. Kylian Mbappe
3 Julian Alvarez#FifaTheBest— PSG Chief (@psg_chief) January 15, 2024
Other Winners at the The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Ederson (Brazil and Manchester City)
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Pep Guardiola
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Aitana Bonmatí (Spain and FC Barcelona Femení)
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Mary Earps (England and Manchester United)
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman (England)
FIFA Puskás Award: Guilherme Madruga (Novorizontino vs. Botafogo-SP in 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro Série B)
FIFA Fan Award: Colón fan
FIFA Fair Play Award: Brazil national football team
The Best FIFA Special Award: Marta (Brazil)
FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) and Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain).
FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World 11: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Lucy Bronze (FC Barcelona Femení), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City W.F.C), Olga Carmona (Real Madrid Femenino), Aitana Bonmatí (FC Barcelona Femení), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (FC Barcelona Femení), Lauren James (Chelsea F.C. Women), Sam Kerr (Chelsea F.C. Women), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC) and Alessia Russo (Manchester United and Arsenal W.F.C.).
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Our Early Prediction for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award in 2024
Fumed by finishing second and third to Messi in The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2023, Norwegian striker Haaland and France national team captain Mbappé must be eager to capture their first accolade in this category this time next year. Apart from the Manchester City forward and Paris Saint-Germain star, OtherLeague.com‘s choices to collect The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2024 would be England duo Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
Both Englishmen, who have made another leap in their career in joining a new team in another country, continued to show their brilliance in the latest chapters of their professional football career, and their amazing statistics in terms of goals and assists could well see them lead their respective clubs and England to huge glories at the end of this season and the calendar year. Should Kane or Bellingham able to make their performance consistent and count when it matters most, it would not be a surprise for them to capture The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2024.
