Lionel Messi won the the men’s Player of the Year at the FIFA Best Awards on Monday night for a record eighth time and Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah had the World Cup winner top of their lists.
The winner is picked by players, managers, the media and fans and it was clear that the 2023 Ballon d’Or winner was going to pick up this award as well.
The Argentina star put together one of the greatest World Cup campaigns at the end of 2022 to help his country to a third FIFA World Cup and that impressed the voters, alongside his achievements with PSG and Inter Miami last year.
Liverpool duo Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah got a vote due to the pair being captains of their countries and it was Messi who topped their votes, with Man City duo Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne making up their top three.
Mohamed Salah and Virgil Van Dijk have voted Lionel Messi as the FIFA best player of 2023.
?? Mohamed Salah:
1. Messi
2. De Bruyne
3. Haaland?? Virgil Van Dijk:
1. Messi
2. Haaland
3. De Bruyne pic.twitter.com/wwCsRA6YeY— All About Argentina ??? (@AlbicelesteTalk) January 15, 2024
Van Dijk faced Messi at the World Cup and was a first-hand witness of the Argentina star’s greatness as he played one of the greatest passes of his career to open the scoring in the quarter-final clash with the Netherlands.
Messi wasn’t present at the award ceremony as the Inter Miami star has just started pre-season training with the MLS side and travelling to London would have meant losing three or four days.
This is likely to be the last we see Messi collecting these big awards but with the World Cup winner, you never know.
If Messi is still that good he would not be plying his trade in a third rate league.
Yes Debroine is best creater and inflatable!!