Argentina star Lionel Messi was crowned the Best men’s player for 2022 at a ceremony held by the International Federation “FIFA” on Monday, in Paris, beating his colleague with Paris Saint-Germain F.C., Kylian Mbappe, and Real Madrid’s top scorer, Karim Benzema, who was crowned with the Golden Ball.
The 35-year-old was rewarded for leading Argentina to victory at the end of last year in the World Cup for the first time since 1986, by defeating France in the final at the penalty shoot, after the two teams tied 3-3 with the regular and extra time.
The nominations were in favor of Messi, who previously won the same title in 2019, which FIFA rebranded in 2016. Messi, who won the Golden Ball award seven times, was present in the podium of the FIFA ceremony during the past two years, but he contented himself with watching the Polish Robert Lewandowski win the title on both occasions, as he settled for third place in 2020 behind Cristiano Ronaldo and the runner-up in 2021 behind Egyptian Mohamed Salah.
Coach Lionel Scaloni was crowned the best coach, while Argentina’s star Emiliano Martinez was crowned the best goalkeeper in the world during the same ceremony.