Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi on Monday night, won this year’s FIFA The Best men’s award.
Messi beat Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappé to the prize.
The three nominees for the award were compiled, FIFA said, in collaboration with its “football stakeholders,” with short lists determined by two separate panels of former players and coaches.
The winner of the award was then voted between journalists, fans, national team captains and managers.
The award is Messi’s third FIFA The Best title, his first coming in 2019 and second coming last year. He has also won a record eight Ballon d’Or awards.
The timeline for the award was between December 19, 2022 — the day after Messi led Argentina to win the World Cup in Qatar — and August 20, 2023.
Messi won the award mostly for his work at PSG and Inter Miami, having helped the French giants to another Ligue 1 title before moving to MLS in July and inspiring Miami to their first-ever trophy, the Leagues Cup.
At the international level, Messi helped Argentina to top CONMEBOL’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification table after six games.
