For his splendid performance at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup that saw him win the only hitherto elusive trophy for the first time in his career, Lionel Messi clinched the 2022 FIFA Best Men’s Award for the outgone year. At a ceremony held in Paris, the capital of France, the Argentine was the cynosure of all eyes as he raised aloft the prestigious trophy.
The superstar and his country’s team captain beat club teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema for the trophy and became, in the process, the third footballer after Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski to win the prestigious award since its inception in 2016, having first won it in 2019.
Messi’s victory comes on the heels of his historic success in the 2022 World Cup when he led Argentina to the ultimate prize for the first time in 36 years despite an upset lose to Saudi Arabia in the opening match.
He scored two goals in the final against France, with the South Americans emerging triumphant on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time in Qatar. Messi also converted his penalty in the shoot-out.
Argentina’s World Cup-winning manager Lionel Scaloni was named best coach at the awards ceremony, which had a strong Argentine flavor. The World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emi Martines won the Best Goalkeeper award too. Barcelona star Alexia Putellas won the FIFA Best Women’s Footballer award.
The former Barcelona’s goal machine was adjudged as the best player in the World Cup, finishing the tournament with seven goals and three assists in seven matches. He was one of the only three Argentine players to feature in every single minute of the campaign, 690 minutes in total after two matches went into extra-time. During the tournament, he registered 347 passes, five tackles and 32 shots.
The Albiceleste captain also picked up the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player, becoming the first player in history to receive the prize twice, having won it in Brazil in 2014.
Over the course of the calendar year, the Argentine forward scored 35 goals and registered 30 assists in 51 appearances for both club and country. Sixty five goals’ involvement is quite an achievement and it was certainly taken into account by the voters for The Best Award.
The winners of The Best player, goalkeeper and coach awards were determined through a voting process in which four groups had an equal say: football fans, selected media representatives and the captains and head coaches of national teams from around the globe. Curiously, his main career rival and captain of the Portuguese team, the mercurial Cristiano Ronaldo, declined to participate in the voting process.
Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar has been a phenomenon for the country. However, the real spectacle over the World Cup has been reflected in another fact.
According to the Civil Registry of the province of Santa Fe, one in 70 babies born in December 2022 were registered with the names Lionel or Lionela, after Albiceleste captain Lionel Messi.
That equates to a 700 per cent increase in the choice of these names for newborns, with only six children per month having that name up to September.
Having picked up FIFA’s esteemed individual award, Messi, who is yet to win a team trophy with Paris Saint-Germain this campaign season, will be hoping to continue his fine form at club level when PSG host Nantes in the league tomorrow.
Though, this newspaper believes Messi’s legacy should be viewed beyond the FIFA Best Men’s Award, even with its acknowledged prestige and splendor. The fact that he did it for the second time consolidates his status as a truly world class player deserving of a place of honour in the pantheon of football greats alongside Arantes d’Nascimento (PELE), Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo.
For much of thrir career, the question has always been Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. This debate persists especially with the exploits of the latter in the Saudi league. Both are a delight to watch in the field of play. They both have committed fans who insist that each has enough diadems on their heads to lay a fair claim to the title of the greatest football player in contemporary times.
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