Total points for FIFA Best Men’s Player revealed as Lionel Messi wins award | OneFootball

Lionel Messi was once again recognised as the best player in the world after winning the 2023 Best FIFA Men's Player of the Year on Monday. The awards show, which took place in London, celebrated the best players and coaches from around the world in multiple different awards, but it was the Argentinian who came out on top in the main event, beating Erling Haaland by the slimmest of margins.

Having already won his eighth Ballon d'Or in 2023, Messi faced stiff competition from Kylian Mbappe and Haaland. Given the latter's exploits in Manchester City's treble charge, it seemed likely the Norwegian would be going home with the trophy. However, Messi's greatness shone through as he claimed the award for the third time in his career.

Now, the voting breakdown between the three superstars has been revealed, and it shows just how close Haaland was to beating the Inter Miami superstar to the award.

Messi and Haaland finished tied on points

It is the closest the award has ever been

The voting scores were revealed after Messi was named the winner, and it shows that the Argentine and Haaland actually finished tied on 48 scoring points. This is the first time that two players have ever finished level on points in the award's history. However, Messi was named the winner as he received more 'five-point scores' than the 23-year-old striker, which meant that more men's national-team captains had the Barcelona icon in first place.

The full breakdown on FIFA's website tells us more about how the points were allocated. The former PSG man received 13 points as a result of votes made by national team captains. He also received 13 points via votes cast by fans, with an incredible 613,293 people voting for him. That is triple the amount who voted for Mbappe. Messi also received 11 points thanks coach and media votes, bringing his total to 48.

Haaland on the other hand, received the bulk of his votes through coaches and the media, where he was allocated 13 points for each. He received 11 points from fans thanks to the 365,893 people who voted for him. However, it was the captains that made the major difference. The former Dortmund man received 11 votes, but was given two fewer five-point scores from the national team skippers.

Mbappe was further back, having received 35 points in total. Nine of these came from captains, coaches and the media, with the final eight being given to him via the fan vote.

Messi in 2023

Messi managed to win trophies with both PSG and Inter Miami

It was another stellar year for Messi. Coming off the back of his World Cup win in 2022, the 36-year-old was part of a PSG team that won Ligue 1 in the 2022/23 season before he then joined Inter Miami.

The wizard unsurprisingly, took the MLS by storm and helped David Beckham's franchise win their first ever trophy when they defeated Nashville SC on penalties in the final. He was named the Ballon d'Or winner for a record eighth time later that year and finished 2023 with 28 goals and 12 assists in 44 games.