Lionel Messi: Argentina forward beats Erling Haaland wins Best FIFA men's player of the year
Lionel Messi pips Erling Haaland to men's player of the year; pair needed voting tie-break as final decision went to national team captains; the 2023 award did not include World Cup 2022 performance; Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was named best men's coach
Monday 15 January 2024 23:39, UK
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi pipped Manchester City striker Erling Haaland to the men's player of the year at The Best FIFA Awards 2023 after a voting tie-break.
The two players were tied on points so the final decision went to national team captain votes as all four home nation skippers — Harry Kane (England), Andy Robertson (Scotland), Aaron Ramsey (Wales) and Jonny Evans (Northern Ireland) — voted for Messi.
The 2023 award recognised the most exceptional performer between December 19, 2022 and August 20, 2023.
Performance at the 2022 World Cup was only considered for the previous year's award — which was won by Messi after captaining Argentina to glory in Qatar.
The 36-year-old clinched the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 before moving to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, where he won the 2023 Leagues Cup — a competition between MLS and Mexico's Liga MX sides — scoring 10 goals.
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Messi beat Haaland to the award despite the Norwegian winning the treble at Man City as he scored 30 goals in all competitions in the period after the World Cup and before August 20, 2023.
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PSG forward Kylian Mbappe finished third in the voting with none of the three finalists in attendance at the awards ceremony in London.
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