‘God of soccer’ Lionel Messi (36, PSG) was honored with being selected as the world’s best player in 2022.
FIFA (International Football Federation) announced on its official website on the 28th (Korean time) that “Lionel Messi has been selected as the best FIFA male player of 2022.”
On this day, FIFA delivered the results of a total of 11 awards, including the 2022 Male and Female Player of the Year, Manager, Goalkeeper, Best 11, Puskas Award, Supporter Award, and Fair Play Award.
The Player of the Year award, given to the male professional player who performed the best in 2022, was won by Messi, the “god of soccer” who put Argentina on the World Cup champion as many expected.
Messi made a big success at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, putting his country, Argentina, at the top of the tournament after 36 years. Messi, who participated in the group stage and pre-tournament matches, recorded 7 goals and 2 assists, playing an active role as the self-proclaimed Argentine ace.
The World Cup Golden Ball, which is given to the player who performed the best during the tournament, was, of course, Messi. Messi also aimed for the top scorer in the World Cup, but failed to win the award due to fellow PSG and French ace Kylian Mbappe (8 goals). 토토사이트
Messi’s achievements were not limited to the World Cup. This season, Messi leads PSG’s attack with 17 goals and 16 assists in 28 matches in all competitions.
It is no wonder that Messi, who has performed tremendously over the past year, is selected as the best player of 2022. At the Player of the Year awards ceremony, journalists and supporters around the world, as well as national team coaches and captains, voted for Messi.
FIFA said, “Messi defeated Mbappe and Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), who were nominated for the finals together at the Player of the Year Awards held in Paris, France, in a vote.”
He added, “Messi, who won once in 2019, was again named Player of the Year, becoming the third player to win the Player of the Year twice, following Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nasr) and Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona).”
While Messi was selected as the 2022 Player of the Year, the male goalkeeper of the year and manager were also members of the same Argentine national team, Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa) and coach Lionel Scaloni. The Supporter of the Year award was also won by an Argentinean supporter.
Messi, who was selected as the Player of the Year, was also selected as a member of the FIFA-FIFPro (International Football Association) World Best 11. At this time, the name of Messi’s rival Ronaldo, who consistently appeared in the world’s best 11 every year, was not visible and attracted attention.
The Fair Play Award went to Luca Rochosivili (Cremonese, USA) who gave first aid to an unconscious opponent. The Puskas Award, given to the player with the best goal, was awarded to Marcin Oleksi (Warta Poznan), who successfully scored with a scissor kick after overcoming an amputation disorder.
At the women’s football awards ceremony, Alexia Putellas (Barcelona) won the Player of the Year award for the second year in a row, and coach Sarina Wichmann, who led England to the championship at Women’s Euro 2022, was selected as the manager of the year.