Lionel Messi is the best in his field. The FIFA World Player of the Year award has something of a lifetime achievement honour. The gala in Paris is routine, also because the association boss prefers to decorate himself with the stars and misses a great opportunity.
Who is the best soccer player in the world? It is the eternally great, the eternally disputed question. On Monday night it was answered with Lionel Messi. The Argentine crowned his outstanding career with the World Cup title in mid-December. It was the last major title in world football that “La Pulga” had not yet tapped. Since then, the 35-year-old’s career has been regarded as finally complete. But he has no shortage of big things to do. In the coming week he will fight with Paris St. Germain to bowl Bayern out of the Champions League. A 0:1 from the first leg has to be made up for. Messi took the events on the stage of “The Best” gala in Paris calmly. He had won the FIFA election for the seventh time.
It might be the last time. Because it is far from clear how things will continue for Messi. His contract in Paris is expiring, and according to media reports, the negotiations are going sluggishly. FC Barcelona keeps flirting with the idea of ??bringing their prodigal son home. And from the American Major League Soccer and from the Arabian Peninsula, irresistible inquiries are said to be pouring in again and again. Cashing in in exile or a couple of epoch-making heroic deeds at a big club as a goal? That is the question. Cristiano Ronaldo, his eternal rival, answered this for himself in late autumn 2022. He succeeds in Saudi Arabia. He has disappeared from the FIFA cosmos, where he was the dazzling star for almost two decades. He was not present in Paris. An evening of legends without Ronaldo, more turning point in football is not possible.
And so the words of FIFA boss Gianni Infantino also take on a certain ambiguity when he says that Messi is now “officially the best player in the world”. First and foremost, this is a dig at the “Ballon d’Or”, the competing world soccer competition, which enjoys a much higher reputation. A horror for Infantino, the Almighty. The best of the (football) world should be associated with its name, hence the name of this gala. And so of course he doesn’t leave the stage to the protagonists. He speaks at the opening, offers himself to the widow as a sympathetic friend at the honorary award for the deceased Pelé, and when the world footballers are chosen, he takes over the announcement himself.
Whenever there is the fame of the giants, the Swiss is present. How greasy it can be was seen after the World Cup final, when Messi was given a noble overcoat by hosts Qatar and Infantino. There was outrage in the western world, but only a shrug in the emirate. Such encroachments were avoided in the Salle Pleyel. Sometimes the glamor of the legends has to be enough. Even for a Gianni Infantino, who always finds ways to outshine everything in a special way.
But this evening, by and large, belonged to the world champion. Lionel Scaloni was honored as a world coach, he left Real Madrid’s Champions League winner Carlo Ancelotti behind. Best goalkeeper in the world was Emiliano Martinez, he prevailed against Thibaut Courtois, also Real Madrid. Incidentally, the royals collectively refrained from visiting the gala. In the Spanish media it was said that one was offended. Mainly because of the award for Messi, who had left “Ballon d’Or” winner Benzema behind. Choosing the best is a political issue year after year. Not free from vanities, friendships or even old rivalries. Also in this year. In addition to the national coaches and captains of each FIFA member country, fans and selected journalists are entitled to vote.
Messi voted as Argentina captain for his club colleague Neymar (why actually?) ahead of Mbappé and Benzema. His national coach Lionel Scaloni chose Messi ahead of Julian Alvarez and Luka Modric. France captain Hugo Lloris, in turn, voted for Mbappé ahead of Benzema and Messi. National coach Didier Deschamps distributed his points like Lloris. Ronaldo, who was not nominated for the final for the first time in years, did not vote for Portugal, but defender Pepe – for Mbappé, Modric and Benzema. The true value of such a rating is much more apt to be discussed than the choice of Messi this year.
Meanwhile, the freestyle of the exceptional Spanish player Alexia Putellas was not without controversy. The 29-year-old from FC Barcelona prevailed in the election against English European champion Beth Mead and US star Alex Morgan. Putellas had experienced a sporting drama before the European Championships last year: one day before the start of the tournament, she suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in training. European champion Mead, top scorer at the European Championships and also player of the tournament, surprisingly went away empty-handed in Paris. On the other hand, the English European champions completely swept away the other awards in women’s football. Sarina Wiegman became world coach for the third time after 2017 and 2020, the Dutchwoman has coached the Lionesses since 2021. Mary Earps from Manchester United won the election as world goalkeeper.
Most of the honors were routinely handled. The leg amputee Marcin Oleksy caused great emotions in himself and the guests. The 35-year-old received the Puskas Award for the most beautiful goal of the year for his goal in his home country’s amputee league game for Warta Posen. During the action, Oleksy swung himself into the air on his crutches and shot the ball backwards into the net towards the goal. In the vote, Oleksy beat, among other things, the remarkable scissor hit by the Brazilian Richarlison at the World Cup in Qatar in the group match against Serbia.
Carlos “El Tula” Pascual became the secret star of the evening. The 82-year-old accepted the fan award on behalf of the Argentinian supporters, who actually brought real emotions to the World Cup in Qatar with their songs and their passion (which was not openly addressed at the gala). “El Tula” came on stage in full gear, with his legendary Bombo. In an extravagant eulogy (or something similar), he entertained the audience and made no move to leave the stage. Once chatting, he had a lot to tell. About the importance of the national team, which he accompanied to 13 world championships and with which he was able to celebrate three titles.
The appearance of Ali Daei provided a political moment that the powerful sports officials so gladly avoid and yet conjure up again and again. He only had a supporting role, but one with symbolic power: the record Iranian international set an example as a guest. On his first trip abroad after his criticism of the repressive government course in Iran, he was on stage when football professional Luka Lochoschvili was presented with the Fair Play Prize. Daei and his family have recently been repeatedly put under pressure by the Iranian authorities. At the end of December, his wife and daughter were prevented from leaving the country. The judiciary accused Daei’s wife of showing solidarity with “counter-revolutionary” demonstrators during the wave of protests in the country. It’s just a shame that the former Bayern Munich footballer wasn’t allowed to use the stage to make a statement. FIFA had once again missed a big moment.
