Lionel Messi – The Best?
The Argentine attacker won the FIFA award on Monday night – but do his achievements in 2023 make him a worthy winner of the individual prize?
Regular readers of my work over the years will know my opinion on Lionel Messi. During almost 15 years living in Spain, I was fortunate enough to watch him on countless occasions for Barcelona. I have see him play at four World Cups, at a Copa América, in Clásico clashes, a Champions League final and more. My view? He is the finest footballer I have witnessed, the greatest of his generation and – even though it is difficult to compare different eras – the best in the history of the game.
But was he the world’s best player in 2023? On Monday night, the Argentine was awarded FIFA’s prize for the finest footballer between December 19th, 2022 and August 20th, 2023. Unfortunately, he was not there to collect the award. In fact, none of the top three in the men’s category were in attendance.
Messi edged out Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to win the award, just as he had in the 2023 Ballon d’Or in late October. Back then, though, there was one big difference – the 2022 World Cup was included in the period taken into account for the award. This time it was not – or it least it should not have been.
This latest prize was supposed to recognise the standout player between December 19th, 2022 and August 20th, 2023. Messi lifted the World Cup for Argentina on December 18th, 2022 – one day before the period which should have been taken into consideration.
Yet 13 international captains voted for Messi and after a tie with Haaland, it was their choice which saw the Argentine take home the award instead of the Norwegian, a treble winner with Manchester City in 2023. And among those captains were some of the biggest names in football – including Mohamed Salah, Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Virgil van Dijk and Robert Lewandowski. Real Madrid pair Luka Modrić and Fede Valverde also voted for Leo.
Was it properly explained to those players that the period taken into account should not include the World Cup? Speaking at the ceremony, former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel said: “I think Messi did more than Haaland to win it. He won the Copa América and the World Cup in the same year.”
But the Copa América was won by Messi and Argentina in July 2021 and the World Cup in December 2022. Neither should have come into consideration for this award, but that clearly was not the case.
In 2023, Messi’s time at Paris Saint-Germain came to an end with an expected Ligue 1 win (the club’s ninth in 11 seasons) and he went on to add the Leagues Cup at Inter Miami. While his form in Florida was particularly impressive, his achievements overall are not really comparable with Haaland’s exploits at City over the same period.
Many have argued on social media that the prize for Messi is a form of homage for the Argentine and all he has achieved. That is probably true. The team captains who voted for Leo clearly hold him in great esteem – but this was not a lifetime achievement award.
Gary Lineker has argued in the past that players, and not journalists, should vote for these prizes because they have a true understanding of football and what it takes to be the best. Some of their voting over the years has shown that this is not necessarily the case, though, and this was another example.
None of this is Messi’s fault, of course. He remains the greatest and it’s another award for his collection. He’ll go on to win more, too – but perhaps the criteria should be better explained to those voting next time.
Some of the selections in the teams of the year were also questionable, but there was no argument about the women’s winner. Aitana Bonmatí was the standout performer in 2023, leading Barcelona to a Liga F and Champions League double and starring for Spain in their maiden World Cup win last summer. She’s a wonderful player.