Lionel Messi named 2022 Best FIFA Men’s Player
Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina attacker Lionel Messi has named The Best FIFA Men’s Player for 2022.
The 35-year-old achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a World Cup winner with La Albiceleste in Qatar, during which he also won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.
Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists at the 2022 World Cup – including a brace in the final against France – and he also helped PSG regain the Ligue 1 title in the 2021-22 campaign.
Despite struggling to hit his usual goalscoring heights during his debut season in Ligue 1, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner already has 17 goals and 16 assists from 28 games in the 2022-23 campaign, and he has won the award for the second time after triumphing in 2019.
Messi beat PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid attacker Karim Benzema to the accolade, and he was also voted into the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World XI alongside the two Frenchmen.
Erling Braut Haaland completed a fearsome attack in the men’s team, which also comprised Luka Modric, Kevin De Bruyne, Casemiro, Joao Cancelo, Achraf Hakimi, Virgil van Dijk and Thibaut Courtois.
Meanwhile, the award for The Best Women’s Player went to Barcelona and Spain star Alexia Putellas, who retains her crown from 2021 after also winning back-to-back Ballon d’Or Femenin accolades.
Putellas won the vote over Beth Mead and Alex Morgan, and all three were unsurprisingly named in the FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World XI, where Mead was one of four England players alongside Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh.
Putellas and Mapi Leon completed the Spanish representation in the team, and there were also places for Samantha Kerr, Wendie Renard, Lena Oberdorf and Christiane Endler.
Elsewhere, Argentinian World Cup-winning manager Lionel Scaloni won The Best FIFA Men’s Coach over Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola, while England manager Sarina Wiegman clinched the women’s prize.
There was further success for La Albiceleste in the goalkeeping awards, as Emiliano Martinez won the men’s honour ahead of Courtois and Yassine Bounou.
England’s Lionesses would dominate the women’s categories, as Mary Earps won the first prize of the night – The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper – beating Endler and Ann-Katrin Berger.
The Puskas Award for the best goal was won by Polish amputee footballer Marcin Oleksy, who scored a sensational bicycle kick for Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.
The FIFA Fair Play Award went to Cremonese defender Luka Lochoshvili, who saved the life of Georg Teigl while playing for Wolfsberger against Austria Wien last February, and Argentina won the FIFA Fan Award over Japan and Saudi Arabia for their vociferous support in Qatar.
FIFA THE BEST AWARDS 2022 WINNERS IN FULL:
The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Lionel Messi
The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Alexia Putellas
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Lionel Scaloni
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Mary Earps
FIFA Puskas Award: Marcin Oleksy
FIFA Fair Play Award: Luka Lochoshvili
FIFA Fan Award: Argentina
FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World XI: Courtois; Hakimi, Van Dijk, Cancelo; Modric, Casemiro, De Bruyne; Messi, Haaland, Benzema, Mbappe
FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World XI: Endler; Bronze, Williamson, Renard, Leon; Walsh, Putellas, Oberdorf; Kerr, Mead, Morgan
