FIFA’s annual, and appallingly named, The Best award ceremony took place on Monday night in London, with Lionel Messi winning the gong for Men’s Player.
Usually a win for any individual award in the last 15 years, the Argentine’s victory was a marvel given his 2022 World Cup triumph was left out of the award generation.
Meanwhile, Manchester City’s Erling Haaland had to settle for second place, despite his team’s hat-trick, and Kylian Mbappe took third place.
Another City star, Kevin de Bruyne was voted into fourth, with Napoli star man Victor Osimhen making up the top five.
At an awards evening at City, Ederson crowned FIFA’s most productive male goalkeeper (Alisson wasn’t even on the shortlist), while Pep Guardiola was given the honour of most productive male coach.
Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona/Spain), Mary Earps (Manchester United/England) and Sarina Wiegman (England) won the respective awards for the women’s football categories.
Check out the full list of winners here.
Admittedly, unsurprisingly, there was no representation for Liverpool’s players that night after 12 months of titles for the Reds.
However, several of Jurgen Klopp’s squad did play their part in crowing the winners.
The awards are decided by a voting panel comprising all the FIFA registered national team coaches and captains, as well as international media representatives and fans online – with each counting for 25%.
That meant Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Andy Robertson (Scotland) and Dominik Szoboszlai (Hungary) would field their top three teams as captains of their country.
Interestingly, 3 of Liverpool’s 4 stars have named Messi as their number one choice, and Szoboszlai opted for his Premier League rival Haaland.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – Saturday, November 25, 2023: Manchester City’s Erling Haaland (L) and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold The FA Premier League fits between Manchester City FC and Liverpool FC at the Manchester City Stadium. (Photo via David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Salah didn’t even have Haaland as his number two, leaving City teammate De Bruyne in second place.
Meanwhile, Szoboszlai and Robertson had Liverpool-linked Kylian Mbappe among their top three.
That was the full vote.
Virgil van Dijk: Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne
Mohamed Salah: Lionel Messi, Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland
Dominik Szoboszlai: Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé
Andy Robertson: Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe
What kind of defender are Liverpool looking for? 20 Hours Ago via Sam McGuire
Liverpool’s goals for the season so far: ranked 22 hours ago thanks to Ewan Ross-Murray
Is Mohamed Salah the greatest full-back of all time in the Premier League? 23 hours ago via Henry Jackson
(Video) Chelsea may be too early for Alexander-Arnold-Pearce’s knee injury
Empire of the Kop
“No surprises at all. . . – Former Liverpool manager speaks of ‘technically incredible’ £25m ace
Red Men’s Television
Liverpool transfer: Agent claims ‘90%’ after ‘contact’ with 26-year-old Feyenoord star
Football365
Liverpool Summer Transfer Activity Prediction
Anfield Watch
Jordan Henderson lands in Amsterdam as Ajax closes in
The Independent
The 3 that the ornament carries on the occasion of Xavi’s departure