Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi (36, Inter Miami CF) won the FIFA World Player of the Year Award for the 8th time in his career.
Messi was awarded the Player of the Year award for two consecutive years, beating Erling Haaland (23, Manchester City) and Kylian Mbappe (25, PSG) at the Best International Football Association (FIFA) Football Awards held in London, England on the 16th. FIFA announced, “Argentina’s Captain Lionel Messi was selected as the 2023 THE BEST FIFA Men’s Player, beating Haaland and Mbappe.”
This result was somewhat predictable, as Messi had previously won the Ballon d’Or, given to the world’s best individual soccer player, held in October last year. Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career and also won the same number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards. Messi, who is in the pre-season with his team Miami, did not attend the awards ceremony, and French soccer legend Thierry Henry accepted the award on his behalf.
The vote was made by adding up the votes of each country’s national team coaches, captains, media, and fans. 25% of each vote was reflected, converted into numbers, and the player with the highest score was selected as the final winner. Especially in case of a tie, it was important to receive as many first place votes. 카지노사이트 백링크
And as a result of the voting, Messi’s win this time was narrowly achieved. Messi tied with Haaland, who led Manchester City to three crowns last season, with 48 points. However, receiving the most first-place votes from the national team captain determined the direction of the award.
Messi received the highest score of 13 from captains and fans. Conversely, Haaland received the highest score of 13 from both the manager and the media. As a result, Messi won the award dramatically, beating Haaland according to the rule that ‘in case of a tie, the person who receives the most first place votes from the national team captain wins the award.’ Mbappe ranked third with 35 points.
It was crucial that Messi retained the memory of leading his country, Argentina, to its third win at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. In that tournament, Messi was selected as the Golden Ball, equivalent to the MVP of the tournament, with 7 goals and 3 assists. As it was an awards ceremony hosted by FIFA, many players highly praised their performance in the World Cup. In addition, before his transfer in the 2022-23 season, Messi had an amazing performance of 21 goals and 20 assists at PSG, leading them to win the French Ligue 1 and the Cup competition.
At the same time, Messi was also named in the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s Best 11 for the 17th time in his career as a winger along with Haaland, Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid) in the attack line. The Best 11 is an award determined solely by votes from professional players. Messi has been named to the best 11 for 17 consecutive years since 2007. Chrystia Ronaldo (15 times) follows with the most in history.
However, Kim Min-jae was not included in the Best 11 candidates and was not awarded the final award, leaving behind regret and controversy. Previously, on the 3rd, FIFA along with the International Football Players’ Association (FIFPRO) announced the 23 finalists for the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s Best 11. The final candidates were selected in a vote held from December 19, 2022 to August 20, 2023, and 11 of them were selected. 토토사이트 백링크
However, despite leading SC Napoli to victory in the 2022-23 season and winning the Serie A best defense award, Kim Min-jae was disappointed as he was not included in the final six candidates. At the time, FIFA announced the list of Eder Militao-Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), and Ruben Dias-Kyle Walker-John Stones (Man City). The final voting result showed that the three defensive players who led Manchester City’s treble, Walker, Stones, and Dias, were named as part of the three backs in the 3-3-4 formation.
Other goalkeepers in the best 11 include Thibaut Crutois and midfielders Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva. Manchester City players, who won the treble three times, were recognized as the best players by dominating as many as six positions among the best 11.
However, the performance of individual position players was not revealed, and the impression that the awards were still given to players with high popularity did not avoid controversy over whether it was a ‘popularity vote’ as a result. At the time the voting was held, Messi was actually playing in the American Major League Soccer (MLS), not the European league, and his performance at the club was not comparable to competitors such as Holland, but he won the Ballon d’Or in consecutive years. For this reason, from the Ballon d’Or award to the Player of the Year award, criticism is pouring in on SNS and media that the awards are unfair.
In particular, many point out that the situation where the Best 11 is concentrated among Manchester City players is also a result of the performance of individual position players not being revealed. This is because there are many players, such as the previously mentioned Kim Min-jae, who not only failed to be nominated but also failed to receive the award even though they performed outstandingly in each league and throughout Europe.