There is no way around superstar Lionel Messi. On an Argentinian evening, the World Cup hero received the silver cup as world footballer of the year 2022 from FIFA. But that caused discussions in Madrid. Meanwhile, Pelé is posthumously honored with an honorary award.
Two months after winning the World Cup with Argentina, Lionel Messi was named FIFA’s best footballer of 2022. The 35-year-old superstar from Paris Saint-Germain prevailed in the final of the world association’s “The Best” gala against his French club colleague Kylian Mbappé and his compatriot Karim Benzema. For Messi, it was the seventh FIFA World Player award since 2009 at the Salle Pleyel in Paris on Monday evening, not far from the Arc de Triomphe.
Real Madrid superstars including Benzema and Germany international Antonio Ruediger stayed away from the ceremony. According to Spanish media reports, in protest against the award and the non-consideration of their young star Vinicius Junior on the 26-player shortlist for the world eleven. Officially, it was said that they wanted to prepare for the cup game against FC Barcelona on Thursday.
On Monday evening, as is usual with honors in recent years, a directional dispute raged on social media. Was the choice correct? Was Messi’s outstanding and career-crowning World Cup tournament the right evaluation criterion? Or should the consistently good year of Real striker Benzema, who missed the World Cup injured, have been the yardstick? The camps in the networks argued irreconcilably. The verdict of the vote taken by fans, journalists, coaches and captains of the national teams of all FIFA countries put Messi back on the throne after the World Cup victory in Qatar. As in the dramatic World Cup final with France, Mbappé was only the second winner.
The World Cup was also the mood barometer in the other important men’s price categories. The best goalkeeper was Argentina’s final hero Emiliano Martinez and not Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois. For coaching, Albiceleste boss Lionel Scaloni prevailed over Real’s Carlo Ancelotti and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola. This also ended the German series: Jürgen Klopp (2019 and 2020) and Thomas Tuchel (2021) had been honored for their successes with Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC in recent years. 2022 was a dreadful year for German men’s football with Qatar as the low point. After all, Rüdiger had been nominated for the world eleven.
The show started emotionally. Pelé was posthumously awarded an honorary prize. The Brazilian football icon died at the end of last year at the age of 82. At the start of the FIFA gala to honor the best footballers of 2022 on Monday evening in Paris, Pelé’s widow accepted a silver trophy from former world champion Ronaldo. “Pelé is immortal,” said world association president Gianni Infantino. Former world footballer Ronaldo and Pelé’s former teammate Jairzinho paid tribute to the three-time world champion. In a video – underlined with statements by Pelé – important stations of the unique career of the exceptional footballer were shown
