Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema are defeated by Lionel Messi for the Best FIFA Men’s Player title.

Lionel Messi claimed the Best FIFA Men’s Player award at a Paris ceremony, held on Monday, defeating Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.

Messi led Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup held in December, a first for his country in 36 years. This win was the only major honour missing from his career.

“It’s amazing. It was a tremendous year and it is an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award,” said Messi, who was seated alongside Mbappe during the Salle Pleyel event.

This marks Messi’s second FIFA The Best title, with the first one received in 2019. He has also secured a record seven Ballon d’Or awards.

Messi scored seven goals at the World Cup in Qatar, including two during the intense 3-3 final victory on penalties. He fell one goal short of the Golden Boot recipient Mbappe.

With 16 goals and 14 assists across all competitions this season, Messi is chasing his second Ligue 1 title in two years with PSG.

Alexia Putellas from Barcelona earned the Best FIFA Women’s award for the second consecutive year, while Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez were crowned the top men’s coach and goalkeeper, respectively.

Other women’s winners included Mary Earps, who was named the goalkeeper of the year, and Sarina Wiegman, the Dutch coach of England, who received the best coach accolade.

Marcin Oleksy, a Polish amputee, won the Puskas prize for best goal of the year for his remarkable acrobatic volley with Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.

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