Messi, the great winner of the Parisian night, won The Best award for the second time. The previous time occurred in 2019. The Argentine star was proclaimed the winner in the shortlist that he shared with the French Karim Benzema (he did not attend like the rest of his Real Madrid teammates) and Kylian Mbappé.
In turn, Messi was part of the FIFA ideal team. With 16 appearances, the former Barcelona surpassed the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and took over the record.
“I was able to achieve my dream, to win the World Cup. Thanks to the people of Argentina for this month that we are living through”, said Messi.
The first winner at the FIFA party was “Dibu” Martínez, who competed with the Moroccan Yassine Bounou and the Belgian Thibaut Courtois. In this way, the Arsenal player became the first Argentine to win an individual award for the best goalkeeper of the year.
“It is something very nice for my career. It is a pride for my country. Winning a World Cup after 36 years is beautiful. Playing in the National Team was the dream of my life, ”he said.
Meanwhile, Scaloni obtained his first great personal recognition by beating the Italian Carlo Ancelotti and the Spanish Josep Guardiola in the shortlist. “I thank the 26 who led us to glory. Without them we would not have achieved anything”, said Scaloni.
The Argentine party in Paris was completed with the mention for Best Fans. Carlos Pascual, popularly known as “Tula”, went up to receive the award with his famous bass drum in hand, the same one that former President Juan Domingo Perón gave him in 1971.
In the seventh edition of The Best FIFA awards, the English Mary Earps won the award for Best Goalkeeper. For his part, Polish amputee footballer Marcin Olesky won the Puskas award for his goal against Stal Rzeszow. The French Sonia Bompastor was established as Best Coach, while the Spanish Alexis Putellas was once again established as the Best Player. The Fair Play award went to Georgian Luka Lochoshvili, who saved Georg Teigl’s life in the Austrian league.
This edition of The Best began with a tribute to the Brazilian legend Pelé, who passed away on December 29, 2022. “Pelé is eternal and will always be with us,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino, an active presence at the gala Former Brazilian striker Ronaldo also participated in the tribute to “O Rei”: “When I think of Pelé, I see a very different player in his time. He was very smart ”. Both gave Marcia Cibele Aoki, Pelé’s last wife, a special award.
Source: Ambito
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