Chinanews.com, Beijing, January 1 (Reporter Xing Rui) In the early morning of the 16th, Beijing time, the 16 FIFA Annual Awards Ceremony was held in London. Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi defeated Haaland and Mbappe to win the 2023 Men's Player of the Year award (World Footballer of the Year).
Image source: FIFA website
According to FIFA rules, the award is voted for by the captains, coaches, journalists and fans of each national team. Each voter holds a total of 5 votes for the first (3 points), the second (1 points), and the third (3 point), and the highest score will receive the FIFA Player of the Year award.
According to the voting results, Messi and Haaland tied for first place with 48 points, and Messi was elected by virtue of the first-place vote of the captains of each national team.
Image source: FIFA website
This is the eighth time in Messi's career that he has been elected World Footballer of the Year, and he has become the player with the most awards. However, Messi, who was preparing for the new season, did not attend the awards ceremony that night.
In the past year, Messi's career has been relatively smooth: in the first half of the year, he helped Paris Saint-Germain win the Ligue 1 title, was named in the Ligue 1 team of the season, and was crowned the all-time top scorer in the five major leagues;
At the national team level, Messi led Argentina to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. He had a strong run in the World Championships, winning against Ecuador and Peru as Argentina led the South American standings. Although Messi has repeatedly stated that he will not participate in this top competition in football again, many fans still hope that he can lead the team to complete the defense of the title.
Image source: FIFA website
Some voices believe that Messi's re-election as the World Footballer of the Year is due to his outstanding performance at the Qatar World Cup at the end of 2022. Haaland and Mbappe, who ranked in the top three votes, were once considered to be the first "post-00s" and "post-90s" to win the title of World Footballer of the Year this year. Although they were not elected, their performance last year was also remarkable.
An indispensable striker in the current Manchester City squad, Haaland helped the team win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in his first season. He himself scored 36 goals in the Premier League, breaking the record for goals scored in a single season. In the Champions League, Haaland was voted the top scorer with 12 goals. At last year's UEFA awards ceremony, Haaland beat Messi and De Bruyne to be named UEFA Player of the Year.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola (left) kisses his favourite Erling Haaland (right). (Data map)
Mbappe currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain. Although he is not yet 26 years old, he has already won a World Cup, a World Cup runner-up, six Ligue <> titles, and won the Ligue <> Golden Boot for five consecutive seasons.
It is foreseeable that with Messi and Ronaldo leaving the top five European leagues one after another, the future world football may become the world of Haaland and Mbappe.
In addition to the World Footballer of the Year, a number of FIFA annual awards were also announced. Bonmatti won the Women's Player of the Year, Pep Guardiola became the best coach of the men's team, Wiegman was named the best coach of the women's team, Ederson was the best goalkeeper of the men's and Earps was named the best goalkeeper of the women. Madruga won the Puskas Prize, and the Fair Play Award was won by the Brazilian men's football team. (ENDS)