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PARIS. — Lionel Messi was named FIFA Player of the Year 2022 on Monday night as Argentina scooped all major men’s awards after winning a vintage World Cup final last December.
Messi captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, and scored 27 goals in 49 games for club and country in 2021-22.
Barcelona’s Alexia Putellas was named women’s player of the year.
The 35-year-old forward Messi scored two goals in the final against France, with the South Americans emerging triumphant on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra-time in Qatar.
“It’s amazing. It was a tremendous year and it is an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award”, said Messi, who sat next to France forward and Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe throughout the ceremony at Paris’s Salle Pleyel.
Mbappe, also nominated for the highly anticipated award of the night, netted a hat-trick in the World Cup final but his achievement was overshadowed as Messi finally won the most coveted trophy in world football.
“I want to express my thanks to (coach Lionel) Scaloni and my team mates, without them I would not be here,” Messi added.
“I achieved a dream I had been hoping for so long and finally I achieved it. It’s a dream for any player, very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so.”
The 35-year-old beat French forwards Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the prize on Monday night. At the ceremony in Paris, Lionel Scaloni, who led Argentina to their third World Cup title, was named men’s coach of the year.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 Winners
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Mary Earps
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez
FIFA Puskas Award: Marcin Oleksy
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Lionel Scaloni
FIFA Fair Play Award: Luka Lochoshvili
FIFA Fan Award: Argentina fans
The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Alexia Putellas
The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Lionel Messi
FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World 11: Christiane Endler, Lucy Bronze, Mapi Leon, Wendie Renard, Leah Williamson, Lena Oberdorf, Alexia Putellas, Keira Walsh, Sam Kerr & Beth Mead, Alex Morgan
FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11: Thibaut Courtois, Joao Cancelo, Virgil van Dijk, Achraf Hakimi, Casemiro, Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe & Lionel Messi — BBC Sport
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