FIFA Best Awards: Lionel Messi sweeps Best Male player, Pep Guardiola gathers Best Coach; Aitana Bonmati creates history

Lionel Messi has etched his name once again along the history books as he was named the FIFA Best player in the official awards, owing to his exploits throughout last year. Along with Messi, his favorite coach Pep Guardiola, who is currently at helm of Manchester City, and Aitana Bonmati, reigning World Champion and Balon D’Or winner, earned their respective laurels of becoming the Best Manager and Best Female Player.

Lionel Messi- the phenomenon

Lionel Messi has been one of the biggest names in the history of world football, and his reign has extended for one more year at the international stage, as he has earned the Best Award, closely after he rounded off last year with 8th Balon D’Or. Owing to his exploitations with newly signed club Inter Miami, where he led the Herons to their first Leagues Cup title, followed by a good performance in the remaining games of MLS, Messi was named the FIFA Best Player.

Starting off 2023 with French giants PSG, where he had weaved his magic wand with his humongous talent and dribbling skills, thus leading to his second consecutive Ligue 1 title, he had a brief fall-out with the club officials, following his unauthorized trip to Saudi Arabia, which has not gone down well with the owners.

He was banished from all club activities, thus prompting Messi to post a public apology video. He scored nine goals with the French giants, before parting ways with them, and joined hands with David Beckham owned-side Inter Miami. With the American outfit, he won Leagues Cup, as he swooned over the Americas with his exuberance and métier, scoring almost a goal in every game.

He has won by the tightest of margins, as his closest rivals, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, were almost on the verge of winning the trophy. The Norwegian giant Haaland, who scored a humongous 52 goals, with 28 coming after the World Cup at Qatar, as he notched a club-record feat of 36 Premier League goals in a single season.

As for Messi’s former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, the Frenchman netted 18 goals during the voting period of 19th December 2022 to 20th August 2023, as a voting mix of national team managers, captains and fans on FIFA’s official website contributed to this result.

Messi and Haaland finished on same number of points, with Messi winning because he achieved more first-placed nominations from National Team skippers, which included a throng of legends like Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Luka Modric among others. Thierry Henry accepted the award on behalf of Messi.

Pep Guardiola- a managerial metronome

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has rendered himself a name in the world stage, when he continued his impressive legacy by winning the FIFA Best Coach of the year. The treble winner, who accomplished a rare feat of winning the award with FC Barcelona and Manchester City, thus etching his name in the history books last year, when Cityzens defeated Inter Milan 1-0. While receiving the award, he thanked all his supporters as he said, “Thank you so much to our players for what they have done for eight years together. Thank you so much for this incredible journey.”

Aitana Bonmati- Football Queen

Aitana Bonmati, the World Cup winner from Spain, who currently holds the award of Balon D’Or, has registered a rare feat of holding the World Cup Golden Ball and FIFA Best Women’s Player, UEFA Player of the Year and Balon D’Or in the same year . Owing to her exploits with Barcelona and Spanish national team, Bonmati has achieved the Best Award, which also highlights her exuberant approach in the game, which has made her one of the legends in world football. She is expected to achieve more laurels in the future, as her finesse has been the talk of the town since last year.

With Messi, Pep and Bonmati sweeping the FIFA Best awards, it would be safe to say that jewels from FC Barcelona would always have an upper hand in winning trophies at the international stage.