Leo Messi was designated by FIFA as The Best, the best player in the world in 2023 despite the fact that he did not appear as the favorite in the pools and the Argentine was not even present at the Gala nor did he have any representative there. This circumstance caused a moment of stupor and the prize was eventually collected among jokes by the presenter of the event, the former player Thierry Henry. Messi won the award tied on points, 48, with the second place and great favorite, the Norwegian and Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.
The award went to the Argentine because a larger group of captains voted for him, 13 for Messi and eleven for the Norwegian. Third place, with 35 points, was PSG’s French striker Kylian Mbappé
Messi was also the winner of the last Ballon d’Or. Messi was not the favorite because the award ran from December 19, 2022 (one day after the final in Qatar) to August 20, 2023. It is the third The Best that Messi wins, taking this trophy after winning Ligue 1 when he was still a Paris Saint-Germain player and the League Cup upon his arrival at Inter Miami in the MLS.
The award for best coach went to Pep Guardiola, the Manchester City coach who last season completed his second treble by winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. The first was achieved with Barcelona.
The gala eleven chosen by FIFA is made up of Courtois, Walker, Stones, Rúben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Bellingham, De Bruyne, Haaland, Mbappé, Messi and Vinícius. The absence of midfielder Rodri, for critics one of City’s great figures, is surprising. In the eleven there are only two players from the Spanish League, both from Real Madrid (Courtois and Vinícius; Bellingham played for Borussia Dortmund) and none from Barcelona.
The award for best goalkeeper, however, did not go to the Belgian Courtois, but to City’s Brazilian Ederson. The author of the best goal Guilherme Madruga, from Botafogo for a spectacular overhead kick from outside the area.