Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Karim Benzema will battle it out for 2022 FIFA Men’s Award on Monday, February 27.
The ceremony which pits the finest footballers with great accomplishments in the year under review (2022) will take place in Paris on Monday.
The winner of the award is always decided by a jury made up of the coach and captain of every men’s national team, including a journalist from each country. Fans are also allowed to vote.
Lionel Messi
Most pundits will tip the Argentine and PSG playmaker to clinch the award ahead of other contenders.
In 2022, Lionel Messi had an underwhelming start to his French Ligue 1 career but has seemed to turn things around late in the year following the resumption of the 2022/23 season.
Despite his less glittering run with the Ligue 1 giants, the record Ballon d’Or winner seemed to have overcloud potential rivals in the race to the award.
The Argentine World Cup hero led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup final at the Lusail Stadium. He sparkled with a man-of-the match performance against France in the final, helping the Albiceleste secure their third World Cup trophy.
Messi scored twice in the final and converted his spotkick as Argentina ran away with a 4-3 win after penalty shootouts.
He won the most valuable player of the tournament and finish second in the top scorers chart behind PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, who is also nominated for the awards.
Lionel Messi is tipped as one of the best players in the world after he crown his 18-year-old career with the World Cup trophy.
Kylian Mbappe
Kylian Mbappe is also set for the awards and will wrestle with his PSG teammate Lionel Messi for the award. The PSG talisman finished as Ligue 1 top scorer last season.
He also bagged France player of the year award and was instrumental to PSG’s Ligue 1 triumph.
Despite losing the 2022 World Cup to Messi-led Argentina, Kylian Mbappe produced a man-of-the-match performance against the Albiceleste.
Mbappe shouldered France’s come-back against Argentina after trailing by two goals in the first half. The 24-year-old scored a hat-trick that saw Les Bleus settled for a dramatic 3-3 draw with Argentina after regulation and extra time.
He became the second player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final after England’s George Heist recorded similar feat in the 1966 World Cup which was won by the Three Lions.
He also peeped Lionel Messi to the tournament’s Golden Boot Award after emerging the top scorer with 8 goals, one better than Lionel Messi.
Karim Benzema
Karim Benzema picked up an injury after making France World Cup squad and was replaced by Kolo Muani.
A spell with Les Bleus in the 2022 World Cup would have afforded the reigning Ballon d’Or winner an opportunity to boost his chances of clinching the 2022 FIFA Men’s Award on Monday.
Despite his World Cup deadlock, Benzema is tipped by pundits to land the award. He was instrumental to Real Madrid’s European and LaLiga triumph.
He won the Champions League and the LaLiga title for Los Blancos, scoring 41 times in his 44 appearances for the club.
Who among these three players will clinch the award this year. Share your thoughts via the comment section below:
