The 2023 FIFA Best Men’s Player Award is again set to see a three-way race between Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. The shortlist was revealed by FIFA on Thursday, with the top three vote-getters on the same ballot as in this year’s Ballon d’Or, which was won by Lionel Messi.
Although Ballon d’Or 2023’s voting included the period of Argentina’s World Cup win in December 2022, the FIFA Best Men’s Player Award will likely not take Messi’s World Cup win into consideration. The reason being that Messi had already won his seventh FIFA award of the season in February this year for his success in Qatar.
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The shortlist for the Women’s Best player have two World Cup winners from 2023 in the form of Aitana BonmatÍ and Jenni Hermoso of Spain as well as Colombia’s Linda Caicedo.
The FIFA men’s award for 2023 includes Erling Haaland who had an immaculate previous season with Manchester City. He played a key role in City’s treble-winning season. He also stood out for his goal scoring prowess in his first season with Pep Guardiola’s team, scoring over 50 goals in the Premier League.
Both Messi and Mbappé went on to win the Ligue 1 championship with PSG, but were knocked out of the Champions League in the round of 16. After leaving PSG, Messi joined Inter Miami CF, where he helped the club win the Leagues Cup.
Editors pick
