Last Updated: March 01, 2023, 08:03 IST
Lionel Messi gained the FIFA’s greatest males’s participant award (AP)
Lionel Messi was named FIFA participant of the yr 2022 at The Best FIFA awards
Lionel Messi was named the very best males’s participant on Monday after main Argentina to final yr’s FIFA World Cup title in Qatar, with Real Madrid ahead Karim Benzema in third place after a standout season serving to Madrid to a different Champions League title. France’s Kylian Mbappe got here second.
The awards had been determined by a ballot of nationwide crew captains and coaches, chosen media and followers voting on-line from candidate lists determined by FIFA-appointed skilled panels.
It has been revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t vote as Pepe was Portugal’s consultant. Pepe voted for Kylian Mbappe as first alternative, adopted by Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.
After profitable the award for the second time, Messi stated that profitable the World Cup was like reaching a dream of his.
“This yr was simply mad for me, to have the ability to obtain my dream that I had fought so onerous for. In the tip I received it and it was probably the most lovely factor that has occurred in my profession,” Messi stated.
“It is a dream for every footballer but something that very few can make come true,” Messi added.
There was controversy as properly when Real Madrid defender David Alaba was racially abused on social media after voting for Messi, as a substitute of Benzema.
Alaba’s vote as captain of Austria’s nationwide crew — inserting Messi first, Madrid teammate Benzema second and Mbappe, the eventual runner-up, in third — was among the many outcomes printed by FIFA after the ceremony in Paris.
That alternative provoked anger from Madrid followers and others as a result of Alaba, who’s Black, voted for Messi, who spent 17 seasons at Barcelona, Real Madrid’s greatest rival.
and I’ve usually stated that for me he’s the very best striker on this planet, and that’s nonetheless the case. Without doubt.— David Alaba (@David_Alaba) February 28, 2023
“The Austrian nationwide crew vote for this award as a crew, not me alone,” Alaba wrote on his social media accounts.
“Everyone in the team council is able to vote and that’s how it’s decided. Everyone knows, especially Karim, how much I admire him and his performances. I have often said that for me he is the best striker in the world, and that is still the case. Without doubt,” he added.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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