World Champion Lionel Messi and the greatest footballer ever liveth and a living legend. edged Kylian Mbappé again, this time to take FIFA’s 2022 best men’s player award on Monday.
After steering Argentina to World Cup glory in an epic final against Mbappé’s France in Qatar, Messi won the best player vote over Mbappé and fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema, securing the FIFA prize for the seventh time in 14 years. Messi became the first player, male or female, to win seven FIFA best player awards, breaking a tie with six-time best women’s player Marta of Brazil.
He won the World Cup at his record-equaling fifth attempt.
“It was a crazy year for me,” Messi said. “I could fulfill my [World Cup] dream after fighting for it for so long. And in the end it happened, and it was the most beautiful thing of my career. It’s the dream of every player, but very few can achieve it, so I’m thankful to God for being able to do it.”
The three players made the final shortlist voted on by a global panel of national team captains and coaches, selected journalists in each of FIFA’s 211 member countries, plus fans online.
The 35-year-old Messi also beat out Mbappé — who was seeking his first best player award from FIFA — for the Golden Ball trophy, awarded by FIFA for the World Cup’s best player. Mbappé earned the Golden Boot as top scorer.
In the FIFA Awards vote, Messi had 52 points, Mbappé 44, and Benzema 34.
Mbappé — 11 years younger than Messi at 24 and considered Messi’s heir apparent on the world stage — made the three-man shortlist for the first time. He was fourth in voting for the 2018 award, the year he led France to the World Cup title.
