Lionel Messi won the award for FIFA Men’s Player of the Year on January 15, 2024, at the award ceremony in London. The FIFA Men’s Player of the Year award is a yearly award that is given to a player to honor their performance in previous years. Different team captains from all around the world vote on the player that they think deserves the award.
However, this year fans are wondering if Messi really did anything for the award. He did not perform as well as most fans were expecting with thirty-two matches played and sixteen goals scored. While these are good statistics for most players, some fans were expecting more from the veteran player. Prior to receiving the award, Messi lost the French Cup, and lost against Bayern Munich in the Champion’s League. He then made his famous transition to the MLS in the United States where he lost the US Open Cup Final, only scored 1 MLS goal all year, and has not played a single match since August. All these factors have motivated the questioning of whether Messi deserved the award.
Alex Sanchez (12) reflects, “I think that he won it because of his performance in the World Cup, I think people are still thinking about that and because different captains from around the world voted I would think it’s because of his leadership.”
Sanchez continues, “I think maybe Halland should’ve [won] because he’s done more for his team, he won the premier league and the Champions league.”
Following the discussion of this year’s award, there is much debate as to who is going to be next year’s Player of the Year. “I think Bellingham could win it if he continues his top performance at Real Madrid,” Sanchez concluded.