The Federation of International Football Associations (FIFA) held an awards ceremony last night in Paris, France to reward the best-performing footballers in 2022.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi won the night’s top prize, while long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo failed to even make the top top.
Messi scooped the award for best men’s player in 2022 with 52 points, Kylian Mbappe came in second with 44 points and current Ballon D’or winner Karim Benzema rounded off the top three with 34 points.
Here are the top 10
Lionel Messi – 52 points
Kylian Mbappe – 44 points
Karim Benzema – 34 points
Luka Modric – 28 points
Erling Haaland – 24 points
Sadio Mane – 19 points
Julian Alvarez – 17 points
Achraf Hakimi – 15 points
Neymar – 13 points
Kevin de Bruyne – 10 points.
Who voted for who?
It should be noted that only national team captains, national team coaches, and top journalists are eligible to vote.
The aforementioned pick their three options with the first choice getting three points, the second two points, and the third choice getting one point.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo did not vote this time for reasons best known to him so it is his vice-captain Pepe Lima who voted on his behalf.
Pepe voted Mbappe as his best with former Real Madrid teammates Luka Modric and Karim Benzema coming in second and third respectively.
The eventual winner Lionel Messi voted best friend and PSG teammate Neymar Santos as his No.1 player his other teammate Mbappe came in second while Benzema came third.
England captain Harry Kane had Messi, Sadio Mane, and Benzema as first, second and third respectively while Germany’s Manuel Neuer voted Messi, Mbappe and former teammate Robert Lewandowski as best, second and third respectively.
New Portugal coach Roberto Martinez went for Messi in the first position, Kevin De Bruyne, who he managed in the Belgium national team as second and Mbappe in third. Brazilian captain Thiago Silva voted fellow countryman Neymar as the best, Messi and Benzema in second and third respectively.
Click here to see full list of how all players, coaches, and journalists voted.
