Inter Miami and Argentina forward Lionel Messi has been named The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year for 2023.
The 36-year-old fended off competition from Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe to retain the award he also claimed last year.
In total, Messi has now won the award three times since it was introduced in 2016, moving out on his own above Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski as the player with the outright most The Best FIFA Men's Player titles.
The voting for the gong was split between fans, players, managers and journalists, with the period under consideration beginning one day after the 2022 World Cup final, which saw Messi lift the trophy, and ending on August 20, 2023.
During that time, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner helped PSG to win the Ligue 1 title, before moving to MLS side Inter Miami, where he quickly won the Leagues Cup to add to his trophy haul - the day before the voting period ended.
Messi is crowned #TheBest! 👑🇦🇷
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) January 15, 2024
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The eight-month spell under consideration also saw Messi score his 700th career club goal, 800th career goal in total and 100th international goal, as well as registering his 1,000th direct club goal involvement.
However, his The Best FIFA Men's Player award came as some surprise considering he was up against Haaland, who scored 52 goals in 53 games to help Man City win the treble last season.
The Norway international led the charge as Pep Guardiola's men lifted the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Haaland finished level with Messi in the voting, but the Argentina skipper was named the winner due to having the most first-choice nominations from national team captains.
Mbappe, meanwhile, netted 41 times in 43 games across all competitions in 2022-23, helping PSG to the Ligue 1 title alongside Messi.
All three players were named in the FIFPro World XI for 2023, which included six Man City players in total, as well as three from Real Madrid.
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Including the two predecessors of The Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year award - the World Player of the Year and the FIFA Ballon d'Or - Messi has now been named the world's best player a record eight times in total by FIFA.
The women's award went to Spain and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who won both the Women's World Cup and a domestic and European treble last year.
Bonmati was chosen ahead of international teammate Jenni Hermoso and 18-year-old Colombian forward Linda Caicedo.
Bonmati inspired Spain to their first-ever Women's World Cup title, winning the Golden Ball in the process, before being named the Women's Champions League Player of the Season as Barcelona lifted the title to complete their treble.
The 25-year-old also won the Ballon d'Or for best female player last year, with Monday's triumph seeing her claim a clean sweep of individual awards following her dream 2023.
Barney Corkhill
