Lionel Messi has crowned The Best FIFA Male Player for 2022 on Monday after winning Argentina's World Cup. At an event in Paris, Alexia Putellas of Spain has voted The Best FIFA Female Player for 2022.
In the competition for the men's Ballon d'Or, Kylian Mbappe, a colleague of Messi's at Psg and a rival of his in the final of the World Cup, came in second place to winner Karim Benzema.
It is Messi's second time receiving the prize, which FIFA established in 2016 after parting ways with the group that organized the Ballon d'Or, France Soccer.
The prize is in recognition of the year the former Barcelona star concluded his remarkable career by leading Argentina to the World Cup title. The media, supporters, and national team captains decide upon it.
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Argentina overcame France on kicks in a dramatic final in Qatar thanks to two goals from Messi, although Mbappe scored a hat-trick for Les Bleus in a shocking 3-3 draw.
Mbappe subsequently took home the Golden Ball as the competition's top player, despite having eight goals—one more than Messi.
"Being able to realize my ambition, for which I had worked so hard, made this year absolutely crazy for me. In the end, I succeeded, and it was the most lovely thing that has ever happened to me professionally. "After accepting the trophy, Messi spoke about his World Cup victory.
Every football player has this goal, but only a select handful can make it come true, said Messi, who was seated at the Paris theatre between Mbappe and his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo.
He won the award barely a day after teaming up with Mbappe to help PSG defeat Marseille 3-0 in Ligue 1.
Putellas Defeats Morgan and Mead.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, 35, replaces Polish star Robert Lewandowski on the FIFA honours list, and Putellas, who missed the second half of last year with an injury, still won the women's award.
To add the FIFA trophy to the Ballon d'Or, which she has previously won two years in a row, the 29-year-old defeated American star Alex Morgan and English striker Beth Mead, who won the European Championship.
Putellas is now recuperating from a severe knee injury sustained in July last year, preventing her from competing in the Euro with Spain in England.
On Barcelona's previous run to the Champions League final, which they lost to Lyon, she had netted 11 goals.
It is unknown if Putellas will play for Spain at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in July and August, despite her prior statements that she hoped to recover from her injury in time to play this season.
Emiliano Martinez received the best male goalkeeper, while Lionel Scaloni won the men's coach award, which contributed to Argentina's World Cup victory in Qatar.
While Mary Earps was named the female goalkeeper of the year, England's triumph at the European Championships helped their Dutch manager Sarina Wiegman win the award for best women's coach.
The Puskas Prize, named after Hungary's greatest player Ferenc Puskas, was won by Polish footballer Marcin Oleksy, an amputee.
