Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi has been nominated, once again, for FIFA’s ‘The Best’ award.
The finalists for The Best FIFA Award were announced on Thursday, and Lionel Messi is among them. The Argentine is alongside two other hopefuls for the individual prize - Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé - in what is yet another achievement for the Inter Miami forward, and the World Cup winner has been recognised once again for his talent on the pitch. Curiously, the top three are the same nominees as the Ballon d’Or finalists, which was won by the Argentine.
As for the other candidates, Manchester City’s Norwegian striker had a 2022-23 campaign full of memorable moments and great goals: he broke record after record in the Premier League and finished as top scorer and winner of the UEFA Champions League, a trophy which went well with his Premier League and FA Cup already sealed earlier in the campaign. Pep Guardiola’s hat-trick could put Haaland as the favourite for the prize.
FIFA ‘forget’ Messi’s Miami records
According to FIFA themselves on their official Twitter account, Messi and Mbappé's most significant moments are limited to what they achieved in France’s Ligue 1, where the league title with PSG and various individual domestic achievements are highlighted (FIFA says 2023′s Best Men’s Player award is based on performances between 19 December 2022 - the day after the World Cup final - and 20 August 2023).
Messi is given the honour becoming the top scorer in the top five European leagues, while with Mbappé they chose to highlight the Frenchman ending the season as top scorer in the league.
When are The Best FIFA Football Awards?
The 2023 The Best FIFA Football Awards are to take place in London on Monday 15 January 2024.
What is Lionel Messi’s The Best record?
After leading Argentina to their third World Cup star, Messi won the 2022 edition in February this year. This time around, he faces a new nomination for FIFA’s The Best ahead of Inter Miami’s preseason for the new MLS campaign in 2024, where the forward has made it clear that every trophy on offer is a target for the Fort Lauderdale franchise.
Since this award is given separately to France Football’s Ballon d’Or, Messi has been a finalist six times, having won it on two occasions (2019, 2022), been runner-up on three (2016, 2017, 2021) and finished third only once (2020).