At the London awards event on Monday, Lionel Messi was named as FIFA’s best men’s player for 2023, and Aitana Bonmati added further individual honours to her collection.
Messi won the trophy for the third time, but on an incredible evening for Manchester City, the 36-year-old emerged as the unexpected winner ahead of Erling Haaland.
The period from December 2022 to August 2023, after Messi had led Argentina to a World Cup triumph, was the only time the award was given.
Despite winning Ligue 1, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner had a quiet finish to his career at Paris Saint-Germain during that period. In June, he joined Inter Miami of the Major League Soccer.
Messi established himself in the United States quite quickly after leading the team—which David Beckham owns a portion of—to their first championship in August, when they won the League Cup.
After scoring 52 goals in his City debut season, where the English team won the FA Cup, the Premier League, and the Champions League, Haaland was the clear favourite to win.
Messi won the competition despite having the same amount of points from a scoring system determined by the votes of national team leaders, coaches, journalists, and supporters because there were more first-choice nominations.
Kylian Mbappe, Messi’s former club colleague, came in third.
But none of the three men’s finalists showed up for the ceremony, so Thierry Henry—who was also co-hosting the event—picked up the trophy in Messi’s place. Henry is a star from Arsenal and France.
As Bonmati finished a perfect sweeping of personal honours after leading Spain to the World Cup and Barcelona to Champions League success in 2023, her nomination as the finest women’s player was never in question.
In recent months, the 25-year-old also took up the UEFA Player of the Year award, the Golden Ball for World Cup Player, and the Ballon d’Or.
“When 2023 came to an end a few weeks ago, I felt sentimental because it was a remarkable and unforgettable year that I will always remember,” Aitana Bonmati remarked.
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“I’m honoured to be a member of a strong female generation that is reshaping both the world and the game.”
Pep Guardiola, who orchestrated City’s inaugural Champions League triumph, was crowned the greatest coach.
Guardiola remarked, “We’re here because we won a lot and because of the thousands of people involved in our success.”
“I’m really grateful for the season we had; it was an amazing adventure. We succeeded in the end, but it was such a great joy to be there.
Five members of Haaland’s club, including Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, and Kevin De Bruyne, were named to the team of the year.
The eleven consisted of Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior, Messi, and Mbappe.
Men’s custodian of the year went to City’s Ederson, while women’s custodian of the year went to Mary Earps of Manchester United and England.
After guiding the Lionesses to the World Cup final, Sarina Wiegman, the manager of the England national team, was awarded women’s coach of the year.
The squad of the year had seven female English players: Ella Toone, Keira Walsh, Alessia Russo, Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, and Earps.
Alongside Aitana Bonmati, the only other Spaniard picked was Olga Carmona, who scored the game-winning goal in the World Cup final. Other Spanish players included were Australia’s Sam Kerr and American sensation Alex Morgan.
The Brazilian men’s squad earned the Fair Play award when they debuted an all-black uniform as a show of support for Vinicius, a forward who was subjected to racial taunts during his time playing for Real Madrid in 2018.
Guilherme Madruga of Botafogo, a Brazilian, also won the Puskas award for finest goal, thanks to a magnificent overhead kick.
