Messi To Win Again? Inter Miami Star on FIFA Best Final Shortlist 

Inter Miami icon Lionel Messi remains in contention to add The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award to his Ballon d’Or in 2023, with the Argentine making the final shortlist.

Despite being 36 years old, the 2022 World Cup winner—who has now received eight Golden Balls—remains the greatest player in the World. He is now the FIFA Best Prize winner and has the opportunity to become the first man to win the trophy three times. He will have to overcome competition from well-known rivals Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to accomplish this, as the forwards from Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain placed second and third in the Ballon d’Or poll, respectively.

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On its official website, FIFA has stated the following about Messi, citing his achievements between December 19, 2022 and August 20, 2023 with their top award: “What else is left to say about the player who has won every major domestic, international and individual honour in the game, and continues to mesmerise global audiences at the age of 36. Messi, who was named The Best Men’s Player in 2022, returned from leading Argentina to glory in Qatar to help PSG lift their latest Ligue 1 crown, the second of his spell in France, while he was also named in the Ligue 1 team of the season and ended the campaign at the top of the division’s assists chart. A new challenge presented itself in July, with the diminutive genius, who now has over 100 goals for his country and is the all-time top scorer in the top five European leagues, moving across the Atlantic to join Inter Miami, a transfer greeted with the rapture and fanfare fully deserving of one of the game’s all-time greats.”

Aitana Bonmati, a former World Cup winner with connections to Barcelona, is leading the way in the women’s division. Her teammates Jenni Hermoso, a Spanish international, and Linda Caicedo, a teenage Colombian who won the Golden Goal with Real Madrid, are also on the shortlist.

The coveted prizes will be awarded at a glamorous awards ceremony on January 15, 2024. Messi’s case for becoming the greatest player of all time would strengthen with another victory.