Lionel Messi has won The Best FIFA Men’s Player award for 2022, beating rivals Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the award.
The Argentina star pulled out a set of career-defining performances during the World Cup in Qatar late last year, helping the South Americans win the title for the first time since 1986.
Messi won a second World Cup Golden Ball in Qatar, also becoming the first player to score at every stage in the tournament and its record-holder for most appearances with 26 games.
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Receiving the award, he said: “Wow, it’s amazing. It’s been a tremendous year and it’s an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award.
“Without my team-mates I wouldn’t be here. I achieved the dream I had been hoping for for so long. Very few people can achieve that and I have been lucky to do so.”
The 35-year-old has also shown more form with club side Paris Saint-Germain after an initially tricky departure from Barcelona. PSG won Ligue 1 in 2021/22 and are well set again to do so this season, though work is needed in the Champions League having lost the first leg 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
It’s another individual award for Messi’s bulging collection. He previously won the prize in 2019 and has seven Ballon d’Or trophies.
