On the morning of January 16, Messi became the owner of the Best Player of 2023 award awarded by FIFA.

According to the announcement from FIFA, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland have the same total number of points (48). Messi received 13 points from the votes of national team captains and fans around the world, while Haaland received support from coaches and the media.

However, according to Article 12 of the voting rules, in case there are 2 players with equal points. The winner will be determined through votes from national team captains around the world. Messi was voted number one by 107 national team captains, while Haaland only received 64 votes. This means victory for the captain of the Argentine national team. However, Messi did not attend the gala in Switzerland to receive the award.

During the period from December 19, 2022 to August 20, 2023, Messi scored 26 goals, assisted 12 times, won the Ligue 1 championship with PSG, then continued to lift the North – Central American Championship Cup with PSG. Inter Miami. Regarding individual awards, Messi won the King of Assists award in Ligue 1 last season and was the best player in the North-Central American Federation Cup.

Messi’s award has been controversial since FIFA announced the nomination list. Many fans believe that Messi’s top 3 position should be given to one of the stars who made important contributions to Man City last season such as De Bruyne, Silva or Gundogan.

Unlike the Golden Ball, The Best will be elected based on votes from coaches, national team captains and some journalists from federations along with votes from fans. Each group of votes will have equal weight. Voting starts from September 14, 2023 to October 6, 2023.

With his victory at this year’s gala, Messi equaled the achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski to become the player to win The Best the most (twice), the remaining time belonged to Luka Modric. This is also the second year in a row that Messi has been honored by FIFA in this category.

Man City fans in particular and a large number of others in general shared their anger after Erling Haaland was not awarded the FIFA Male Player of the Year award. Once again, Argentine superstar Messi defeated his two juniors, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, to reach the podium, previously at the 2023 Golden Ball.

Some international football fans quickly expressed anger about Haaland not winning this award on Twitter.

• Lionel Messi? So Erling Haaland was robbed of FIFA The Best?
• Really confusing
• I don’t think I will like Messi anymore
• I don’t find it strange that Messi was awarded because people like it
• Extreme injustice for Haaland

In addition to The Best award, the World Football Federation also awards many other important awards such as best men’s team coach (Pep Guardiola), best goalkeeper (Ederson),…