Messi won The Best FIFA 2022
"This award I give to my teammates, as a tribute to what they do," Messi said after accepting the award from FIFA president Gianni Infantino. "Winning the World Cup is the best thing in my career as a footballer."
At the end of his speech at more than 10 pm on February 27, Paris time, Messi also reminded his three sons sitting below the guest seats: "Thiago, Mateo, Ciro, it's time to go to bed".
Messi equals the achievements of Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski with two wins for The Best. If you count the awards awarded by FIFA since 1991, the Argentine superstar raises his own record to seven times, while Ronaldo has only been honored five times.
FIFA chooses to nominate The Best 2022 based on performance from August 8, 2021 to December 18, 2022. During this period, Messi scored 45 goals and assisted 34 times in 74 matches, won the World Cup and Intercontinental Super Cup with Argentina, Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup with PSG, and won the World Cup Golden Ball.
The 2022 World Cup champion dominated the voting categories, as coach Lionel Scaloni and goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez also won. Scaloni beat Carlo Ancelotti and Pep Guardiola in the best coach poll, when he was the youngest person to lead a team in the 2022 World Cup but won. And Martinez beat Thibaut Courtois and Yassine Bounou to win the Best Goalkeeper award, after winning the World Cup Golden Glove.
At the women's award, midfielder Alexia Putellas won The Best for the second time in a row, with performances for Barca and Spain. The best female coach was England's Sarina Wiegman, while Mary Earps won the best female goalkeeper award.
Ronaldo was not present in the men's typical team, when four strikers were selected: Benzema, Mbappe, Messi and Erling Haaland. Martinez is an excellent goalkeeper, but the place in the typical team belongs to Courtois.
The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year Award voted by the international jury. Each federation selects a head coach, team captain and a journalist on this council. Based on 11 nominations, the panel will choose the best player.
Men's Player: Lionel Messi
Women's Player: Alexia Putellas
Men's coach: Lionel Scaloni
Women's team coach: Sarina Wiegman
Men's goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez
Women's goalkeeper: Mary Earps
Beautiful goal: Marcin Oleksy
Impressive fans: Argentina
Men's XI: Courtois - Cancelo, Van Dijk, Hakimi - Casemiro, De Bruyne, Modric - Benzema, Haaland, Mbappe, Messi.
Women's XI: Endler - Bronze, Leon, Renard, Williamson - Oberdorf, Putellas, Walsh - Kerr, Mead, Morgan.
