The 2023 FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award will be another contest between Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland.
FIFA announced the shortlist on Thursday with the same top three in voting for the Ballon d’Or that Messi won in October.
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Although the Ballon d’Or voting period included the 2022 World Cup which Argentina won under Messi, he actually won the seventh FIFA award of his career in February which rewarded his title-winning performance in Qatar.
The Women’s Player of the Year shortlist includes two 2023 World Cup winners, Aitana Bonmatti and Gheni Hermoso of Spain, as well as Linda Caicedo of Colombia.
The 2023 FIFA Men’s Award includes Haaland’s outstanding season in which he helped Manchester City win a treble of titles: the Champions League, the Premier League and the FA Cup.
Messi and Mbappe won the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain, who were eliminated from the Champions League in the round of 16. Messi then joined Inter Miami and quickly helped the team win the League Cup.
Bonmati also won the Women’s Ballon d’Or in October as well as the UEFA European Footballer of the Year award in August as the best player in Europe last season. She also helped Barcelona win the Women’s Champions League and the Spanish League.
Bonmati used her acceptance speech in August to support teammate Hermoso, who was kissed on the lips without consent by Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales at a World Cup ceremony in Sydney.
Rubiales eventually resigned three weeks after the final, which was held on August 20, and the repercussions also led to the dismissal of women’s national team coach Jorge Villeda from his position. Velda was excluded from FIFA voting for the Women’s Football Coaching Award.
The FIFA ceremony will be held on January 15 in London.
Voting was done by national team captains and coaches, selected journalists as well as fans through an online poll that closed in October.
