Lionel Messi secures FIFA Best award despite voting confusion

In January 15's glitzy ceremony in London, Argentine superstar Lionel Messi claimed his eighth Ballon d’Or, edging out Erling Haaland.

Chirag

January 29, 2024

Lionel Messi Wins Fifa Best Award Despite Voting Confusion — Raddad Jebarah/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Argentinian icon Messi was once again acknowledged as the world’s premier player at an extravagant ceremony held in London on January 15. The Inter Miami star, who clinched his eighth Ballon d’Or in 2023, narrowly edged out Manchester City forward Erling Haaland for the most esteemed accolade.

Both Messi and Haaland amassed equal points, yet the 2022 World Cup hero seized the top spot by garnering more votes from international team captains. Martinez speculates that uncertainty among voters might have influenced this outcome, with the Portugal manager unexpectedly selecting Croatia’s Marcelo Brozovic for third place.

Responding to queries from A Bola, Martinez — now collaborating with Cristiano Ronaldo at the international level — admitted, “It was a mistake. Now we have a lot of votes, we have a lot of elections. We have the FIFA player, The Best player, who has been there all season. The first time we have a World Cup in winter and the voting is strange, because it was only for six months. For me, individual awards in football are difficult. I think the individual player represents what the team did. And what about Brozovic and Bernardo Silva, and the players who were in the Champions League final, and who were successful in domestic trophies. But Brozovic is a player who represents an idea of the game, who represents what Croatia is doing. But it was a mistake, for the period in question. And I think I wasn’t the only one who made that mistake, because when you see the votes, I think there’s more of an intention to see what happened at the World Cup too.”

Although the Ballon d’Or vote incorporated the 2022 World Cup, where Messi led Argentina to victory in Qatar, the FIFA polling was intended to consider events between December 19, 2022, and August 20, 2023. While Messi garnered accolades with Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami during this timeframe, Haaland played a pivotal role in Manchester City’s historic Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup Treble triumph.