Lionel Messi has been named men’s player of the year at the 2022 Best Fifa Awards.
The 35-year-old beat French forwards Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the prize.
Lionel Messi captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar and scored 27 goals in 49 games for the club and country in 2021-22.
“It’s amazing. It’s been a tremendous year and it’s an honour for me to be here and win this award. Without my team-mates I wouldn’t be here.
“I achieved the dream I had been hoping for for so long. Very few people can achieve that and I have been lucky to do so.”
Lionel Messi said
Aston Villa and Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez was recognised as the best men’s goalkeeper, while Scaloni beat Pep Guardiola.
Martinez, 30, helped his country win the World Cup, saving four penalties along the way including in the shootout victory against France in the final.
Lionel Scaloni, who led Argentina to their third World Cup title, was named men’s coach of the year.
Marcin Oleksy, a player for the Polish team Warta Poznan, received the Fifa Puskas award for scoring the best goal of the year. He achieved this feat by executing a stunning overhead volley against Stal Rzeszow
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Premier League stars Virgil van Dijk, Kevin De Bruyne, Casemiro and Erling Haaland were named in the men’s world XI alongside the likes of Messi, Mbappe and Benzema.
Fifa pro men’s World XI:
Full list of winners:
The Best men’s player: Lionel Messi
The Best women’s player: Alexia Putellas
The Best men’s goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez
The Best women’s goalkeeper: Mary Earps
The Best men’s coach: Lionel Scaloni
The Best women’s coach: Sarina Wiegman
The Best Puskas award: Marcin Oleksy
The Best fan award: Argentina fans
The Best fair play award: Luka Lochoshvili