Lionel Messi:  Best FIFA men’s player of the year award goes to the Argentina forward who triumphed over Erling Haaland

Lionel Messi secured his third FIFA “The Best” award on Monday, surpassing Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to claim the title of best men’s player in 2023.

Despite Haaland’s impressive debut season with Manchester City, where he scored an astounding 52 goals, Messi emerged victorious by clinching the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain and winning the Leagues Cup shortly after joining Inter Miami.

This latest accolade adds to Messi’s already remarkable collection, as he recently became the Ballon d’Or champion for an unprecedented eighth time.

Out of the three finalists, which included Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe, Messi garnered the majority of votes from national team captains and coaches, despite his relatively unremarkable performance over the past year. In 2023, Messi made a move to David Beckham’s Miami team, where he scored 11 goals in 14 appearances and secured the Leagues Cup victory.

This achievement marks his consecutive win as FIFA’s Best men’s player, having previously claimed the title in 2022 and 2019.