Messi and Putellas voted best players at FIFA awards

Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi poses on stage after receiving the Best FIFA Men’s Player award during the Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 ceremony in Paris on February 27, 2023. (AFP)

Spain and Barcelona forward Alexia Putellas poses on stage after receiving the Best FIFA Women’s Player award during the Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 ceremony in Paris on February 27, 2023. (AFP)

• Messi beat Mbappé — who was seeking his first best player award from FIFA — to the Golden Ball trophy

PARIS: World Cup winner Lionel Messi edged Kylian Mbappé again, this time to take FIFA’s best men’s player award on Monday.
The best women’s player was Spain’s Alexia Putellas for a second straight year.
After steering Argentina to World Cup glory in an epic final against Mbappé’s France last year in Qatar, Messi won the best player vote against Mbappé and Karim Benzema to secure the FIFA prize for the seventh time in 14 years.
The three players made the final shortlist in voting by a global panel of national team captains and coaches, selected journalists in each of FIFA’s 211 member countries, plus fans online.
The 35-year-old Messi also beat Mbappé — who was seeking his first best player award from FIFA — to the Golden Ball trophy awarded by FIFA for the World Cup’s best player.
Putellas won her award from Alex Morgan of the United States and Beth Mead, who led England to the European Championship title in 2022.
Barcelona playmaker Putellas made the top three again despite being injured days before the Euro and missing the tournament.
Mead was the joint top scorer at the Euro, and was named the tournament’s best player. She sustained a serious knee injury in November while playing for Arsenal and could miss the Women’s World Cup in July in Australia and New Zealand.
Morgan, who was second in the 2019 vote to teammate Megan Rapinoe, was player of the tournament when the US won the CONCACAF W Championship last year. She was also the joint top scorer.