Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi has been named Men’s Player of the Year at the 2022 FIFA Best Awards.
The 35-year-old beat French forwards Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the award.
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 Potelis was named the Women’s Player of the Year.
Messi, who won the award for the second time, said: “It’s amazing. It’s been a great year and it’s an honor to be here and to win this award. Without my teammates I wouldn’t be here.
“I have achieved the dream I have been hoping for for so long. Very few people get to do that and I have been lucky enough to do so.”
Lionel Scaloni, who led Argentina to their third World Cup title, was named Men’s Coach of the Year at the ceremony in Paris.
Scaloni beat Pep Guardiola – who led Manchester City to a sixth Premier League title – and Real Madrid’s Champions League-winning boss Carlo Ancelotti to the accolade.
England manager Serena Wigman was named Women’s Coach of the Year after leading the Lionesses to European Championship glory on home soil last year, the team’s first major trophy.
Aston Villa and Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez were adjudged the men’s goalkeeper of the year, while the women’s award went to England’s Mary Earps.
Martinez, 30, helped his country win the World Cup, saving four penalties along the way, including a shootout win over France in the final.
Earps, who plays for Manchester United in the Women’s Super League, started all six of England’s games at Euro 2022 as they won the competition.
Ampeti footballer Marcin Oleksii of Polish team Warta Poznan won the FIFA Puskas Award for Goal of the Year. With the help of his crutches, he sent a stunning overhead volley against Stall Rizzo as it flew into the back of the net.
Recipient of the Fair Play Award was Luka Luchoshvili, who grabbed rival George Tegel’s tongue to save his life after the midfielder passed out.
FIFPro Men’s World XI: Thibaut Courtois; Achraf Hakimi, Virgil van Dijk, Joao Cancelo; Kevin De Bruyne, Luka Modric, Casemiro; Lionel Messi, Erling Holland, Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe
