Alexia Putellas aims to extend the recognition for the best footballer of 2022
Lionel Messi, declared world champion with Argentina, is the hot favorite to win the best player award at FIFA’s ‘The Best’ awards ceremony this Monday evening in Paris. The PSG superstar finally captured the supreme title with his country which was missing from his illustrious record and is best placed to win the favor of the judging panel made up of coaches, national team captains and journalists alongside the public vote. . Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé are the other finalists and both have the ambition to win the trophy for the first time.
Should he win the award, Messi would earn that accolade for the third time in his career, having achieved it in 2009 and 2019, succeeding Polish Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, the current double winner in 2020 and 2021.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or will compete against two Frenchmen, his compatriots Kylian Mbappé and Karim Benzema. The former top scorer of the last World Cup with 8 goals made his mark in the World Cup final with a hat-trick for history despite the penalty shootout defeat to Argentina. Benzema, for his part, was the great architect of Real Madrid’s fourteenth Champions League, the fifth of his career, and is buoyed by his conquest of the last Ballon d’Or.
FIFA’s The Best recognizes the most outstanding player between August 8, 2021 and December 18, 2022, the very day Messi was named world champion with Argentina. With the World Cup in Qatar as the most important competition to take into account, the Argentine striker has an undeniable lead over the French in the run-up to the Champions League.
“Messi delivered a string of mesmerizing performances that led Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022. The genius number 10 was Argentina’s talisman in Qatar, scoring seven goals – including a brace in that unforgettable final victory over France – and providing three assists throughout the tournament His teammates also often cited his leadership as a vital factor in the team’s success. Messi’s inspirational influence was evident when he was awarded the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the league,” FIFA emphasized on its website.
Among the women, the Spanish Alexia Putellas, title holder and Ballon d’Or 2022, can rehabilitate her crown, but the FC Barcelona midfielder will meet Beth Mead (Arsenal), last year’s European champion with England, and the American Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave ), the latter in the background in betting.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
