Two months after winning the World Cup, Argentina's Messi has been named the best male footballer over the last 12 months, eclipsing Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema. Spain's Alexia Putellas won the top women's player.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 ceremony was held in Paris on Monday. Kylian Mbappe from the French national team, who also plays for Paris Saint-Germain as a forward, and Karim Benzema, who plays for Real Madrid, were nominated for the award alongside with Messi.
Lionel Messi was named FIFA male player of the year at a ceremony in Paris on Monday on the back of his World Cup triumph with Argentina.
The 35-year-old forward scored two goals in the World Cup final, which Argentina won on penalties against France following a 3-3 draw after extra time.
Messi beat his Paris Saint-Germain teammate, and World Cup final rival, Kylian Mbappe to the award with Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema the other contender to claim the prize.
It is the second time that Messi has won the honor inaugurated by FIFA in 2016 after football's world governing body split from Ballon d'Or organizers France Football.
Messi won the World Cup in Qatar in December 2022 for the first time in his career and was chosen the best player of the championship.
In the final match Argentina bested France in a series of penalty. Mbappe scored a hat trick in the game. Having successfully scored 8 times during the championship, he became the best player of the World Cup 2022.
Benzema missed the World Cup because of a trauma and announced his withdrawal from the national team in December. As a Real Madrid player he won Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and Spanish national Championship in 2022. In October, he won the Golden Ball for the first time in his career.
Putellas wins women's award
Spain's Alexia Putellas was named the Best FIFA women's player for 2022.She is currently recovering from a serious knee injury suffered last July which saw her miss the Euros in England.Prior to that she had scored 11 goals on Barcelona's run to the Champions League final, which they lost to Lyon.(AFP, dpa, Reuters)
