FIFA announced 12 players nominated for The Best 2023 individual award, including Lionel Messi, although only counting achievements since the World Cup.
FIFA calculated the achievements for The Best from December 19, 2022 to August 20, 2023. During this time, Messi played 37 matches, scored 26 goals and assisted 12 times. On average, he scored or assisted every match. The 36-year-old superstar helped PSG win Ligue 1, and led Inter Miami to their first title - the Leagues Cup. He assisted the most goals in Ligue 1 last season, won the Golden Boot and the Leagues Cup Best Player awards.
Messi won two Leagues Cup Top Scorer awards at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee, USA on August 19, 2023. Photo: AP
Messi will compete for The Best award with 11 other players, including Julian Alvarez, Marcelo Brozovic, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Erling Haaland, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Kylian Mbappe, Victor Osimhen and Declan Rice.
With the treble last season, Man City has the most representatives in the nomination, with five players, not counting Gundogan when he moved to Barca in the summer of 2023. If Gundogan is included, Man City accounts for half of the list. They are expected to be the strong candidates to compete with Messi for the award, in which Haaland is the most promising, with 36 goals in 44 matches not including assists.
Brozovic's nomination is a surprise, despite his contribution to Inter reaching the Champions League final and winning the Italian Cup. Rice helped West Ham win the UEFA Conference League, before moving to Arsenal. Mbappe won the French title with PSG, and was also the top scorer in Ligue 1. Serie A champions Napoli have two players in the attacking pair of Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen.
Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored 31 goals and assisted 7 times in 35 matches, a higher efficiency than both Messi and Haaland. He helped Al Nassr win the Arab Club Champions Cup and was the tournament's top scorer. However, like The Best 2022, the 38-year-old striker continued to be absent from the nomination list.
A panel of four groups will be selected by FIFA, including national team coaches and captains, journalists from member associations and online readers. The four groups will be given equal weight, with the top three groups having their votes made public after the awards ceremony. The only restriction is that voters cannot vote for themselves.
The Council will begin voting on September 14, 2023, from the above nominations, ending on October 6, 2023.
The Best was first awarded in 2016, after being split from the FIFA Ballon d'Or. Since then, Ronaldo, Messi and Robert Lewandowski have all won the award twice, while Luka Modric has been named once. Messi last won the award in 2022, when he helped Argentina win the World Cup.
The Best also has other categories such as best coach, best goalkeeper, and similar categories for women. Pep Guardiola is expected to win the coach award ahead of Simone Inzaghi, Ange Postecoglou, Luciano Spalletti and Xavi. Yassine Bounou, Thibaut Courtois, Ederson, Andre Onana and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen will compete for the goalkeeper award.
Hoang An
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