“Biggest robbery of any sporting award”, “Football is finished” - Twitter explodes as Lionel Messi beats Haaland to win 2023 FIFA The Best award
Football fans on Twitter (now known as X) were outraged with Lionel Messi being awarded FIFA's Best Men’s Player Award 2023 ahead of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi and Haaland were tied at 48 scoring points, while Mbappe secured 35. The Argentine legend beat the Norwegian striker as he had more first-choice nominations from national team captains: 13 to 11. Messi also beat Haaland and Mbappe to the 2023 Ballon d'Or last year.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland enjoyed a truly outstanding 2023 as he scored 50 goals for club and country and spearheaded his club's historic treble victory. They won the UEFA Champions League, the FA Cup, and the Premier League, where he broke the goal-scoring record.
Thus, Haaland was considered the favorite by many as the FIFA Best award is supposed to take into consideration only the calendar year. It was a surprise to many fans on Twitter when the Argentine legend was named as the winner, and they took to the social media platform to react. One fan claimed:
“Maturing is realising that whilst that is true, this is the biggest robbery of any sporting award.”
Another fan added:
“Someone please tell me what Messi did in 2023??? Football is finished”
Here is a selection of their posts:
Some fans were shocked by Messi winning:
Lionel Messi wins 2023 FIFA The Best award for a record-extending eighth time
Messi was named FIFA's Best Men's Player at the ceremony at the Hammersmith Apollo theater in west London on Monday, January 15, for the eighth time in his career. No other player has more than five such awards.
In 2023, the Argentine legend helped Paris Saint-Germain win the Ligue 1 title. He then joined Inter Miami as a free agent last summer and guided the Herons to Leagues Cup triumph, their first-ever trophy. He also helped them reach the final of the 2023 US Open Cup.
Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati was awarded with the FIFA's Best Women's Player award at the ceremony after her vital contributions to Spain's 2023 World Cup winning run in Australia.