GUWAHATI: Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati were crowned as the best players of 2023 at the FIFA Football Awards 2023 ceremony, held in London on January 15.
Argentinian forward Lionel Messi retained the Fifa player of the year award 2023, beating Manchester City’s treble-winning Norwegian striker Erling Haaland and France’s Paris St. Germain forward Kylian Mbappé.
Lionel Messi and Erling Halland were locked together on 48 points and were separated by the number of first-choice nominations received in votes from national team captains, as per the Rules of Allocation (article 12). France striker Kylian Mbappé finished third with 35 points.
Meanwhile, Aitana Bonmatí won The Best Fifa Women’s Player, beating Linda Caicedo and international teammate Jenni Hermoso. Bonmati topped the poll with 52 points and succeeded her FC Barcelona team-mate, Alexia Putellas, fending off competition from fellow finalists Linda Caicedo with 40 points, and Jennifer Hermoso with 36 points.
Ederson of Manchester City has been named as The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper of 2023. The Brazilian shot-stopper was awarded the honour following Manchester City’s historic treble-winning campaign. Ederson topped the poll with 23 points, ahead of fellow finalists Thibaut Courtois who received 20 points, and Yassine Bounou with 16 points.