Lionel Messi has beaten Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to claim the 2022 best FIFA men’s player award.
The seventh edition of the award ceremony was held in Paris on Monday night.
Messi, who inspired Argentina to a dramatic victory at the Qatar 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup, claimed the award for the second time.
The 35-year-old netted seven goals for the Albiceleste in Qatar. He also scored 27 goals in 49 games for club and country in 2021-22
Messi is winning the award for the second time since its rebranding in 2016. He also joins the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo (2016, 2017) and Robert Lewandowski (2020, 2021), who have claimed the top prize.
“It’s amazing. It’s an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award,” said Messi.
“Without my team-mates I wouldn’t be here. It was an amazing year and I achieved the dream that I’ve been hoping for so long and finally, I managed to achieve it.
“It’s the most wonderful thing that’s happened to me in my career.”
Below is the full list of winners:
Best men’s player: Lionel Messi
Best women’s player: Alexis Putellas
Best Men’s Coach: Lionel Scaloni
Best women’s coach: Sarina Weigman
Best Women’s goalkeeper: Mary Earps
Best Men’s goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez
Puskas: Marcin Oleksy
FIFA Fair Play award: Luka Lochoshvili
Best Fans: Argentina
FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World XI: Thibaut Courtois; Achraf Hakimi, Joao Cancelo, Virgil van Dijk; Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric, Casemiro; Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Erling Haaland
FIFA FIPRO Women’s World XI: Christiane Endler; Lucy Bronze, Maria Leon, Leah Williamson, Wendy Renard; Alexia Putellas, Keira Walsh, Lena Oberdorff; Alex Morgan, Sam Kerr, Beth Mead
