Sunil Chhetri refuses to include Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe among his votes for 2023 FIFA The Best Men’s Player award
Indian football team captain Sunil Chhetri snubbed both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in his votes for the 2023 FIFA The Best Men’s Player award.
The Argentine icon ended up winning the award, tied on points with Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland, while Mbappe finished third with 35 points. Messi pipped Haaland to the honor after FIFA's rules clarified that the person with higher votes from national team captains would win the award.
The 36-year-old World Cup winner won his second Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2023 and also won the Leagues Cup with Inter Miami. This is the fourth time Messi has won this award, the others being in 2009, 2019, and 2022.
Meanwhile, Mbappe enjoyed a title-winning campaign in the league with PSG last year, netting 29 times in 34 matches.
However, Chhetri handed out most points to Haaland, who bagged a stunning 52 goals in his first campaign with Manchester City. He won the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, and the FA Cup with the Cityzens last year.
Chhetri named Haaland's Manchester City teammate Rodri as his second pick while casting his last vote in favor of attacker Victor Osimhen. The Napoli striker guided his club to the Serie A trophy last year, scoring 26 goals and assisting five in 32 matches.
Kylian Mbappe votes in favor of Lionel Messi for 2023 FIFA The Best Men’s Player award
France captain and PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe voted in favor of Lionel Messi to win the 2023 FIFA The Best Men’s Player award. The pair shared the pitch 67 times at the Parc des Princes, managing 34 joint goal contributions.
Before Messi departed for Inter Miami in the summer of 2023, he and Mbappe won Ligue 1 twice playing alongside each other. The 25-year-old World Cup winner cast his second vote in favor of Manchester City's Erling Haaland and his last for the Norwegian's club teammate Kevin De Bruyne.
De Bruyne was also pivotal in City's treble-winning season, scoring 10 goals and assisting 31 from 49 appearances across competitions.
However, Messi failed to return the favor as he cast his first vote for Haaland and second for Mbappe.