Argentina received significant honors following their World Cup victory in December of last year, and Lionel Messi won the Best Men’s Player 2022 award at the FIFA awards on Monday. The 35-year-old scored twice in the championship match against France before Argentina won on penalties after a 3-3 deadlock in Qatar. While Emiliano Martinez of Argentina won the title of Best Men’s Goalkeeper, Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni won the title of Best Men’s Coach.
“It’s amazing. It was a tremendous year, and I’m honored to be here today and receive this award “, said Messi, who attended the ceremony at Paris’s Salle Pleyel alongside French teammate Kylian Mbappe of Paris St. Germain. Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final but was overshadowed by Messi, who was also nominated for the top award. Without my teammates and (coach Lionel) Scaloni, I would not be where I am today, Messi continued. “I eventually fulfilled a dream for which I had hoped for a very long time. Every player wants to accomplish it, and I was fortunate enough to do so. Very few individuals are able to do that.”
The Best Fan honor went to Argentina’s supporters. Marcin Oleksy received The FIFA Puskas Award at the glitzy ceremony for scoring the year’s best goal, which was recognized. While playing for Wolfsberger AC, Luka Lochoshvili received the FIFA Fair Play award for his heroic actions when an enemy player passed out on the field and Luka went to help. The Ballon d’Or winner from the previous year, Alexia Putellas of Barcelona, was awarded the Best Women’s Player, Mary Earps of England earned the Best Women’s Goalkeeper title, and Sarina Wiegman of England was chosen the Best Women’s Coach.