Lionel Messi was crowned as FIFA’s best men’s player for 2023 on Monday, while Aitana Bonmati added to her collection of individual accolades at the awards ceremony in London.
Messi claimed the award for the third time, but the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was a surprise victor ahead of Erling Haaland on an otherwise glorious night for Manchester City.
Bonmati’s selection as the best women’s player was less controversial as she completed a clean sweep of personal awards after helping Spain to win the World Cup and Barcelona to Champions League glory in 2023.
The 25-year-old also won the Ballon d’Or, Golden Ball for player of the World Cup and UEFA’s player of the year in recent months.
Here is the full list of winners at the FIFA Best Awards:
Men
Best player:
Lionel Messi (ARG/Paris Saint-Germain-Inter Miami)
Best coach:
Pep Guardiola (ESP/Manchester City)
Best goalkeeper:
Ederson (BRA/Manchester City)
Puskas (best goal) award:
Guilherme Madruga (BRA/Botafogo)
Fair play award:
Brazilan men’s senior team
Team of the year:
Thibaut Courtois (BEL/Real Madrid), Kyle Walker (ENG/Manchester City), John Stones (ENG/Manchester City), Ruben Dias (POR/Manchester City), Bernardo Silva (POR/Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (ENG/Borussia Dortmund-Real Madrid), Kevin De Bruyne (BEL/Manchester City), Lionel Messi (ARG/PSG- Inter Miami), Erling Haaland (NOR/Manchester City), Kylian Mbappe (FRA/Paris Saint-Germain), Vinicius Junior (BRA/Real Madrid)
Women
Best player:
Aitana Bonmati (ESP/Barcelona)
Best coach:
Sarina Wiegman (NED/England)
Best goalkeeper:
Mary Earps (ENG/Manchester United)
Team of the year:
Mary Earps (ENG/Manchester United); Olga Carmona (ESP/Real Madrid), Lucy Bronze (ENG/Barcelona), Alex Greenwood (ENG/Manchester City), Keira Walsh (ENG/Barcelona), Alessia Russo (ENG/Manchester United-Arsenal) Lauren James (ENG/Chelsea), Ella Toone (ENG/Manchester United) Aitana Bonmati (ESP/Barcelona), Alex Morgan (USA/San Diego Wave), Sam Kerr (AUS/Chelsea)
Note: The award period for the women’s accolades was between 1 August 2022 and 20 August 2023.
The award period for the men’s prizes was between 19 December 2022 and 20 August 2023 inclusive.
