THE BEST AWARDS
How many times has Messi won The Best award?
With a World Cup in hand, Argentina’s Lionel Messi won FIFA’s Best Men’s Player award in 2022, then headed across to Inter Miami.
A year ago, Lionel Messi won the 2022 FIFA’s Best Men’s Player award, beating off then PSG teammate Kylian Mbappé, who he’d also edged past in a more collective manner a few months earlier when Argentina overcame France in the World Cup final. That was Messi’s seventh top award win in 14 years, breaking the record he tied with six-time Best Women’s Player, Marta from Brazil.
The Best FIFA Football Awards: Follow the live coverage here!
Messi’s 2022 accomplishments, then 2023
In the 2022 calendar year, Messi won four different trophies: Ligue1 and the Super Cup with PSG, and the Finalissma and World Cup with Argentina. He had 54 goal contributions in that year, with 25 goals scored and 29 assists over 47 games. He had more goal contributions (7 goals, 3 assists) in the World Cup than any other player, and on top of that, had the most shots on target (18) in the competition. In Ligue 1, Messi provided 14 assists in the 2021-22 season, an average of 0.54 per game.
In the summer of 2023, Messi packed up his bags and headed across the Atlantic for a new adventure in the United States. A blockbuster signing for Major League Soccer saw arguably the greatest player ever to lace up a pair of boots join Inter Miami. The drop in level, despite playing a huge role in winning the new franchise’s first ever trophy, means he’s unlikely to collect an eighth individual title, with goal-machine Erling Haaland expected to take the award. Kylian Mbappé is the other name in the three-man shortlist.
How Messi beat Mbappé, again
Mbappé, Messi’s PSG teammate last year and World Cup final opponent, was looking to get his first FIFA Best Player award. The 24-year-old won the Golden Boot award as the leading goalscorer in league matches. He was on the three-man shortlist alongside Messi and fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema. Even when he played with France when they won the World Cup in 2018, Mbappé came in fourth in voting. In the end, Messi had 52 total points, Mbappé had 44, and Benzema had 34.
Other interesting facts from The Best 2022:
- Benzema had won the Ballon d’Or back in October while Messi did not even make the long list of candidates
- Robert Lewandowski won the Best Men’s Player award the previous two years in a row
- Cristiano Ronaldo did not make the 14-player shortlist for the Best Player award this year for the first time ever.
- Messi broke a record previously shared with Ronaldo by making the Men’s World Best XI for the 16th time. Mbappé and Benzema were also included.
Join us at AS USA for live coverage of The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023.