In recent years, every trophy for the best player has been accompanied by controversy, such was the FIFA The Best award, where Leo Messi was declared the winner. The Argentinian star defeated two other world football stars, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, in this competition. Messi received the same number of votes as Haaland, but the "flea" was the first preference of most of the captains of the representative teams, a detail that made the difference by giving him this trophy.
Messi was not present at the ceremony, neither were Haaland and Mbappe, while the media and opinion once again raised doubts whether or not Messi deserved this trophy by bringing some statistics.
In 2023, Messi scored a total of only 9 goals with PSG, he was on the field when he was eliminated by Bayern Munich in the Champions League and he was also on the field when he was eliminated by Marseille in the French Cup. At the end of the season, in 2023, Messi left PSG to go to Inter Miami.
Unlike Messi, the year 2023 was fantastic for Haaland. Biondi led Man.City to the famous "triple", Champions League, Premier League, Cup. In a single year, in 2023, he scored 50 goals.
Not only Haaland's father, but also others present in the hall were surprised by the fact that coaches, captains and journalists voted for Messi as the winner of FIFA The Best.