Despite his farewell to the big sports stage, Lionel Messi has been voted world footballer of the year again. It is already the eighth FIFA trophy for the 36-year-old. He surprisingly prevailed against Erling Haaland and Kilian Mbappé, who were also nominated. At the award ceremony in the Hammersmith Apollo there was rather restrained applause. Messi himself was not there.
Aitana Bonmatí was named the best female footballer. She celebrated the World Cup title with Spain in the summer. This year the world footballer – not the world footballer as usual – was the last to be honored. All awards at the gala ceremony were presented by women.
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Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola was honored as the best coach. The best coach was the Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman, who led the English national team to the World Cup final in the summer.
In memory of Franz Beckenbauer
German professionals played no role in the award ceremony. DFB captain İlkay Gündoğan, Marc-André ter Stegen and Ann-Kathrin Berger made it onto the shortlist in the categories of best player, best goalkeeper and best goalkeeper. However, none of them made it to the final selection.
For a moment between the award ceremonies, the gala was also dedicated to the recently deceased Franz Beckenbauer. “Franz was by far the best and most important player in the history of German football,” said his long-time companion Paul Breitner, visibly moved. “He was an extraordinary person.” It was a great honor to play on a team with Beckenbauer, said Breitner. The two other footballers who died recently, the Englishman Sir Bobby Charlton and the Brazilian Mário Zagallo, were also remembered.
In some cases, the sporting value of the award is called into question by Messi’s victory. He did win the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, which still counts as part of the assessment period. At club level, however, the 36-year-old has arrived on the periphery of world football – he has been playing for Inter Miami since leaving Paris Saint-Germain. Many saw Haaland, who scored 44 goals in 54 games across all competitions with Manchester City, as the favorite. He not only won the treble of the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, but also the UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup.
Despite his farewell to the big sports stage, Lionel Messi has been voted world footballer of the year again. It is already the eighth FIFA trophy for the 36-year-old. He surprisingly prevailed against Erling Haaland and Kilian Mbappé, who were also nominated. At the award ceremony in the Hammersmith Apollo there was rather restrained applause. Messi himself was not there.
Aitana Bonmatí was named the best female footballer. She celebrated the World Cup title with Spain in the summer. This year the world footballer – not the world footballer as usual – was the last to be honored. All awards at the gala ceremony were presented by women.
