Abhijay Raj Vaish, Pune
Lionel Messi clinched the title of The Best Fifa Men’s player for 2023 on Monday rounding up his dream run in London. The Inter-Miami forward pipped Erling Haaland in the voting process which resulted in a 34 points tie leading to Messi being crowned with the top prize as all four home nation captains, Harry Kane (England), Andy Robertson (Scotland), Aaron Ramsey (Wales) and Johnny Evans (Northern Ireland), voted for him.
The attacker who completed this season after winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 followed by his record eighth Ballon d’or in 2023 broke another record by becoming the player to be awarded with the FIFA Best prize more than anyone, topping the competition in 2019, 2022 and 2023. He also became the only player to become a part of the FIFpro World XI for a record seventeen times followed by Cristiano Ronaldo with fifteen nominations. Along with Messi, Thibaut Courtois, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior were also a part of this year’s eleven. The squad consisted of six Manchester City players who were a part of the Treble winning team in 2023.
The 36-year-old forward won the Ligue 1 with Paris Saint Germain before heading to the United States to lace-up his boots for Inter Miami in 2023. Kylian Mbappe, his former teammate was also a part of the podium claiming the third position in the voting.
Pep Guardiola was named the best men’s coach at the awards who guided Manchester City to glory by becoming the first English club to win five trophies in a season. Spain’s Atiana Bonmati was crowned the women’s best player of the year award with England coach Sarina Wiegman claiming the women’s best coach for a record fourth time.