LIONEL MESSI WINS BEST PLAYER AT THE FIFA THE BEST AWARDS.
Written by AIGBOKHAEBHO OKHUELEIGBE on February 28, 2023
Argentina and Paris St. Germain forward Lionel Andres Messi has been named men’s player of the year at the 2022 Best Fifa Awards. The 35-year-old beat French forward and club teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema to the prize
Messi, who is winning the award for a second time and joining Robert Lewandowski and Cristiano Ronaldo in the exclusive club of two-time winners said afterwards:
It’s amazing. It’s been a tremendous year and it’s an honour for me to be here and win this award. Without my team-mates I wouldn’t be here. I achieved the dream I had been hoping for for so long. Very few people can achieve that and I have been lucky to do so.
The former Barcelona Player and legend, captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, and scored 27 goals in 49 games for club and country in the 2021/22 season.
Paris hosted The Best FIFA Football Awards after last year’s virtual event which took place in FIFA’s Zurich headquarters due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other winners on the night were Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni, who defeated Manchester City’s Josep Guardiola, and Real Madrid’s Carlo Ancelloti to the title of the Best Coach of the year, after helping Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar, their third in history.
Another Argentine, Emiliano Martinez won the best men’s goalkeeper of the year. The Aston Villa shot-stopper defeated strong contenders to the title, like Real Madrid’s goalie, Thibaut Courtois, Allison Becker, and Ederson.
Collecting his award, Martinez said:
They always ask me who my idols are or who I watched when I was a kid… watching my mum clean buildings for eight or nine hours and watching my dad work. They are my idols.
Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas was named women’s player of the year. Sarina Wiegman won the best female coach of the year, after guiding The English National female team to the European title.
Full list of winners:
The Best men’s player: Lionel Messi
The Best women’s player: Alexia Putellas
The Best men’s goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez
The Best women’s goalkeeper: Mary Earps
The Best men’s coach: Lionel Scaloni
The Best women’s coach: Sarina Wiegman
The Best Puskas award: Marcin Oleksy
The Best fan award: Argentina fans
The Best fair play award: Luka Lochoshvili
