Argentina hero Lionel Messi was named the Best FIFA Men’s Player of 2022 on Monday during The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 at Salle Pleyel in Paris, France.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 ceremony crowned Alexia Putellas and Lionel Messi as the outstanding players of the past year, alongside recognizing the outstanding performances of coaches, goalkeepers and more across the men’s and women’s game.
Footballing legend and global icon Lionel Messi took home the award for The Best FIFA Men’s Player following Argentina’s historic FIFA World Cup 2022™ victory in December, inspired by the Paris Saint-Germain FC forward.
FC Barcelona Femení’s Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas was recognized as The Best FIFA Women’s Player for the second year in a row after a successful year that saw her club win a third successive league title.
After FIFA President Gianni Infantino‘s opening speech, a memorial video was shown to the audience for Brazilian legend Pele, who passed away last December.
Former legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario took the stage and presented a special award which was dedicated to Pele to his former wife, Marcia Aoki.
Manchester United’s British keeper Mary Earps was voted The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper after in a year in which she lifted the UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 with the Lionesses.
Argentina shot-stopper Emiliano Martínez got his hands on The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper prize following his outstanding performances throughout FIFA World Cup 2022.
The English national team’s manager Sarina Wiegman won The Best FIFA Women’s Coach after leading the Lionesses to European glory and her second successive UEFA EURO title, while Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni added The Best FIFA Men’s Coach to his trophy cabinet, alongside the FIFA World Cup trophy.
The Best FIFA Football Awards ceremony also recognised the standout goal of the year as Marcin Oleksy won The FIFA Puskás Award for his impressive finish. Georgian player Luka Lochoshvili picked up The FIFA Fair Play Award in recognition of his exemplary reaction whilst playing for Wolfsberger AC when an opposing player fell unconscious on the pitch and Luka rushed to his aid. In addition, Argentinian fans were recognised for their support of the national team during the FIFA World Cup 2022, which saw impressive numbers travel to Qatar and millions of fans then welcomed their winning heroes home to Buenos Aires and across the country.
The winners of The Best player, goalkeeper and coach awards were determined through a voting process in which four groups had an equal say: football fans, selected media representatives and the captains and head coaches of national teams from around the globe.
The winners of The Best FIFA Football Awards 2022:
The Best FIFA Women’s Player: Alexia Putellas (Spain/FC Barcelona Femení)
The Best FIFA Men’s Player: Lionel Messi (Argentina/Paris Saint-Germain FC)
The Best FIFA Women’s Goalkeeper: Mary Earps (England/Manchester United WFC)
The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martínez (Argentina/Aston Villa FC)
The Best FIFA Women’s Coach: Sarina Wiegman (England Women’s National Team)
The Best FIFA Men’s Coach: Lionel Scaloni (Argentina Men’s National Team)
The FIFA Puskás Award: Marcin Oleksy (Poland/Warta Poznań)
The FIFA Fair Play Award: Luka Lochoshvili (Georgia/Wolfsberger AC/U.S. Cremonese)
The FIFA Fan Award: Argentinian Fans
Source and Photo Credit: FIFA
