Messi beats Mbappe to Best FIFA Men’s Player award

Lionel Messi was named Best FIFA Men’s Player at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, beating Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.

Messi received the 2022 World Cup with Argentina in December — the nation’s first in 36 years — ending his await the one main honour to have eluded him in his profession.

– Barcelona’s Putellas wins Best FIFA Women’s Player

“It’s amazing. It was a tremendous year and it is an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award,” stated Messi, who sat subsequent to Mbappe all through the ceremony on the Salle Pleyel.

Monday’s award was Messi’s second FIFA The Best title, his first coming in 2019. He has additionally received a file seven Ballon d’Or awards.

“I want to express my thanks to [coach Lionel] Scaloni and my teammates; without them I would not be here,” Messi added.

“I achieved a dream I had been hoping for so long and finally I achieved it. It’s a dream for any player; very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so.”

Messi scored seven targets on the World Cup in Qatar — together with a brace within the thrilling 3-3 closing victory on penalties — ending one behind Golden Boot winner Mbappe.

Messi has scored 16 targets in 27 video games in all competitions this season, in addition to registering 14 assists, as he chases his second Ligue 1 title in two years at PSG.

Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas received the Best FIFA Women’s award for the second 12 months operating, whereas Argentina’s Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez acquired the honours for prime males’s coach and goalkeeper, respectively.

Among the opposite girls’s winners, Mary Earps was named keeper of the 12 months and England’s Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman obtained the accolade for finest coach.

Polish amputee Marcin Oleksy received the Puskas prize for finest purpose of the 12 months for a spectacular acrobatic volley with Warta Poznan in opposition to Stal Rzeszow.

Information from Reuters was used on this story.