Lionel Messi has landed another prestigious award in soccer but the Argentina star needed a tiebreaker with Erling Haaland to win FIFA’s best men’s player prize on Monday. He has national team captains to thank. The voting breakdown showed Messi and Haaland with 48 points each. The tiebreaker was whoever had more “5-point” scores from the votes of national team captains. That category was 107 to 64 for the Inter Miami forward. Neither player showed up at the awards ceremony. Kylian Mbappé, the third finalist, skipped it too. World Cup champion Aitana Bonmatí showed up — and cleaned up. The Spain playmaker was named FIFA’s best women’s soccer player.
- January 16, 2024
- 23°