Messi, 36 years old, achieved his third statuette through the election of national captains and coaches, journalists and fans, in a close competition with the Norwegian forward Erling Haaland.
The captain of the Argentine national team won the 2019, 2022 and 2023 editions, and separated himself from the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and the polish Robert Lewandowskiwho won it twice.
Messi won the Ballon d’Or 8 times: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2023. He is the footballer who has won the historic award the most times.
Meanwhile, the French magazine Onze d’Or considered him the most outstanding footballer in the years 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2018.
Argentina’s number “10” won the Golden Boot in six seasons (2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19) and Golden Ball World Cup in two (2014 and 2022).
His stupendous scoring quota allowed him to win the “Pichichi” in the Spanish league in the 2009/10, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons and top scorer status was extended to the European Champions League in 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2014/15 and 2018/19.
In addition, he was elected LaLiga’s most outstanding player in 2008/09, 2009/10, 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2017/18 and 2018/19.
Messi He was also distinguished as the best player in Europe in 2011 and 2015; and the Copa América in 2015 and 2021.
Other achievements for the man from Rosario were FIFA World Player (2009); Tuttosport’s Golden Boy (2005); Laureus (2019); FIFA Pro (2006); Bravo Trophy (2007); MVP Leagues Cup of the United States (2023); Leagues Cup scorer (2023).
The details of the vote
Lionel Messi won the FIFA The Best Player award for the third time, in a historic and close vote with the Norwegian Erling Haaland which was defined by the number of captains who chose the symbol and reference of the world champion team in Qatar 2022.
The suffrage of the prizes The Best of FIFA was based on the participation of captains and coaches of national teams, journalists and fans that led to Messi, Haaland and the French Kylian Mbappé to share the shortlist to define the most outstanding footballer of the period from December 19, 2022 to August 20, 2023.
As reported by FIFA, each captain, coach and journalist chose their three favorite players with 5 points for the first, 3 for the second and 1 for the third.
The Rosario and the Norwegian, with 48 points, relegated the Frenchman (35) and FIFA, to proclaim the winner, appealed to article 12 of the Allocation Rules, which weights the votes of the captains. In this item, Messi He achieved 677 points against Haaland’s 557.
Messi won over Haaland in the fan vote, with 613,293 against 365,893, but was surpassed in the journalists’ vote (729 against 315) and coaches (541 against 476).
Among the captains who voted for Messi, the Chilean Gary Medel stands out (with whom he had a media discussion at the 2019 Copa América); the Colombian Radamel Falcao; the Croatian Luka Modric; the Ecuadorian Enner Valencia; Mbappé himself; the Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma; the Mexican Guillermo Ochoa; the Paraguayan Gustavo Gómez; the Egyptian Mohamed Salah and the Englishman Harry Kane.
Messi, who could not vote for himself, elected Haaland first, followed by Mbappe and the current Manchester City forward Julián Álvarez, his teammate in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Among the coaches, the Rosario star was chosen by Lionel Scaloni; Marcelo Bielsa (Uruguay); the Brazilian Fernando Diniz; Eduardo Berizzo (led Chile); Nestor Lorenzo (Colombia); and the Italian Luciano Spaletti, among others.
The 12 best players in FIFA The Best were: Messi (48), Haaland (48), Mbappé (35); the Belgian Kevin De Bruyne (32); the Nigerian Victor Osimhen and the Spanish Rodri (24); Julián Álvarez (21); the Portuguese Bernardo Silva (18); the German Ilkay Gündogan (13); the Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and the Croatian Marcelo Brozovic (7); and the Englishman Declan Rice (1).
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
