Inter Miami’s Argentinian player Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Men’s Footballer of the Year Award.
The gala night, where the best players of 2023 were determined by FIFA, was held in London, the capital of England. FIFA Best Awards, which were launched after the end of the partnership with France Football magazine since 2010, were distributed for the 8th time.
As a result of the voting held with the participation of the public and the coaches and captains of the national teams, members of the press, Messi, who plays for Inter Miami in the American First League, was chosen as the best male football player of the year.
The 36-year-old Argentine football player, who did not attend the ceremony, left behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe.
Messi, who received the Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) Award given by France Football magazine 8 times, also won FIFA’s player of the year award for the 4th time after 2009, 2019 and 2022.
Midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who won the UEFA Champions League with Barcelona and the FIFA World Cup with the Spanish National Team, received the best female football player award.
Marta, the 37-year-old Brazilian football player who is the top scorer in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and has received FIFA’s female player of the year award 6 times, was also given the FIFA Special Award.
– Coach of the year Guardiola
Spanish Josep Guardiola, who led Manchester City to the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League and FA Cup titles last season, was chosen as the coach of the year in men’s football, ahead of Simone Inzaghi (Inter) and Luciano Spalletti (Napoli/Italy National Team).
Sarina Wiegman, head of the England National Team, received the award for the best coach in women’s football. Wiegman won the award for the 4th time after 2017, 2020 and 2022.
Manchester City’s Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson was awarded the male goalkeeper of the year, and Mary Earps, who protects the goalkeeper of Manchester United and the England National Team, was awarded the female goalkeeper of the year.
The FIFA Puskas Award for the best goal of the year went to Guilherme Madruga, who plays for Botafogo in the Brazilian Second League.
Footballers from the Brazilian National Team won the FIFA Fair Play Award. The players took to the field in black jerseys to support their teammate Vinicius, who was subjected to racist chants during a match he played for Real Madrid in the Spanish league.
The FIFA Fan Award was given to Hugo Daniel Iniguez, who was seen feeding his child milk from a bottle while watching the match of Argentinian club Atletico Colon from the stands.
– 11’s of the year
The following players, men and women, were selected for the XI of the Year determined by FIFA and the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro):
Men:
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois
Defense: John Stones, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias
Midfield: Bernardo Silva, Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne
Forwards: Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, Vinicius
Women:
Goalkeeper: Mary Earps
Defense: Olga Carmona, Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood
Midfield: Keira Walsh, Alessia Russo, Lauren James, Ella Toone, Aitana Bonmati
Forwards: Alex Morgan, Sam Kerr