Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will have one more battle in the 2023 Globe Soccer Best Men’s Player Awards. Both stars got nominations along with this year’s best players like Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Messi has recently won the 8th Ballon d’Or award so he would eye one more trophy.
It would be interesting to see the winner in this award ceremony. Lionel Messi will get tough competition from current European league stars. Ronaldo and Messi both are not playing in any European League. Ronaldo moved to Al Nassr last winter from Man United and Messi signed a new contract with Inter Miami following the departure from PSG in summer.
Lionel Messi is one of 30 nominees in the running to be named Best Men’s Player for 2023. He won the FIFA World Cup trophy for Argentina last year and was the player of the tournament. He got the reward of this title as the Argentine won a record 8th Balloon d’Or award in Paris last month. Messi was a key player in Miami’s transformation and helped his club to win silverware this season.
Messi will face a battle with his rival Cristiano Ronaldo who is doing wonders for both Al Nassr and Portugal. CR7 has scored 10 goals in Euro qualifiers and is also the leading goal-scorer in the Saudi Pro League. The Portuguese helped Al Nassr to win the silverware in August to mark his first trophy. He has guided his side to Euro 2024 qualification with 10 wins out of 10.
PSG Forward Kylian Mbappe and Man City striker Erling Haaland will give both a tough fight. Mbappe was instrumental for PSG last season to win Ligue 1 and he was a lone warrior for France in World Cup 2022 final. Meanwhile, Erling Haaland scored 52 goals in 2022/23 to complete a treble for Man City by winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
England skipper Harry Kane also finds his name in the nominations who recently moved to Bayern after finishing second in Premier League top-scorer. Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah and Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham also earned nominations. Bellingham is already on the next level by having a great debut season in the Spanish capital.
Former Real Madrid legend, Karim Benzema, who joined Al-Ittihad in the summer, is the reigning winner of Best Men’s Player award. He is looking to defend that title. This award ceremony will be organised in Dubai at the spectacular Atlantis, The Palm on January 19, 2024. The shortlists will be voted on between December 12 and 28 by fans and Official Jury.
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