London: FIFA has declared Argentine player Lionel Messi as the Best Men’s Player of the 2023 award, retaining the title from 2022.
Messi won the award by beating Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe of France. Messi was not present at the event to receive the award.
Aitana Bonmati, who was part of the Spanish squad which won the World Cup in 2023, was voted the Best Women’s Player of the year.
The 36-year-old was voted the Best Player by national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans. Messi’s performance, scoring ten goals that helped Inter Miami win the 2023 Leagues Cup, counted for the achievement of this award.
Messi’s rival, Erling Haaland shared equal points but couldn’t secure the necessary first-place votes from National Team captains. The player had scored goals in 52 out of 53 matches played across all competitions in the 2022- 2023 season.
Pep Guardiola, the coach of Manchester City, won the Best Men’s Coach award, and dedicated the award to fellow nominees Simone Inzaghi and Luciano Spalletti.
Sarina Wiegman claimed the Best Women’s Coach prize for leading England to the World Cup final. The team lost by the margin of 1-0 to Spain. Seven of her Lionesses became part of the Women’s World XI. The list included Mary Earps, who also received the Best Women’s Goalkeeper Award. Brazilian Goal Keeper Ederson was named the Best Men’s Goal keeper.
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