Lionel Messi Named The Best FIFA Men’s Player for Third Time

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Lionel Messi is the best… again.

The 36-year-old Argentine soccer superstar has won his third FIFA The Best men’s award, beating Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé for the honor.

Lionel Messi The timeline for the award was between December 19, 2022 — the day after Messi led Argentina to win the World Cup in Qatar — and August 20, 2023. 

Messi won the award mostly for his work at PSG and Inter Miami, having helped the French giants to another Ligue 1 title before moving to MLS in July and inspiring Interm Miami to their first-ever trophy, the Leagues Cup.

On the international level, Messi helped Argentina top CONMEBOL‘s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification table after six games.

Messi was not in attendance in London to collect the award.

The three nominees for the award were compiled, FIFA said, in collaboration with its “football stakeholders,” with short lists determined by two separate panels of former players and coaches. The winner of the award was then voted between journalists, fans, national team captains and managers.

The award is Messi’s third FIFA The Best title — his first coming in 2019 and second coming last year. He’s the only player to win the award three times.

He has also won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards.

Messi had a whirlwind 2023. In the first half, he won the French top flight for a second time but was booed by fans in his final games following a second successive round-of-16 exit from the Champions League.

The height of Messi’s season came after he joined Miami in July, when he swiftly inspired the franchise to win the Leagues Cup with a series of individual heroics, although the club missed out on the MLS Playoffs.

Here’s the full list of men’s awards:

The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Lionel Messi
Puskás Award: Guilherme Madruga (Botafogo-SP)
FIFA Fair Play Award: Brazil senior men’s players
FIFA Fan Award: Hugo Miguel Iñiguez
Men’s Coach of the Year: Pep Guardiola
Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year: Éderson (Man City) 

Men’s World XI:
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Defence: John Stones (Man City), Kyle Walker (Man City), Rúben Dias (Man City)
Midfield: Bernardo Silva (Man City), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (Man City)
Forwards: Erling Haaland (Man City), Kylian Mbappé (PSG), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid)

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