The idea of Lionel Messi winning the 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year award has raised eyebrows among football fans. But did the Argentine deserve to be nominated at all?
World football's governing body, FIFA, recently announced the final three nominees for the FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year award, with Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi all in contention for the award.
Messi gunning for back-to-back FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year award
While most football fans agree with the nominations for the first two players, the inclusion of the Argentina captain among the top three players in the world has sparked some controversy.
Messi is the reigning FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year and also recently won the 2023 Ballon d'Or award for his performances in recent months, especially as he captained Argentina to victory at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in December.
Despite his successes, the Inter Miami forward's nomination for the accolade does not sit well with many due to FIFA's supposed criteria.
FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year eligibility criteria
According to the published eligibility criteria for the 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year award, players are being judged for their performances from December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023.
The eligibility window goes against the norm of having a player's performances over the course of a regular European season, or from one August to another, be the period of consideration for the award.
This means that the period of consideration starts from the day after Messi and Argentina won the World Cup final against France in Qatar, rendering the former Barcelona man's performances in Qatar inadmissible.
Messi's performance during the period under review
Without the World Cup campaign and the first half of the Ligue 1 season being considered for the award, Messi's candidature becomes suspect, especially since his performances in Qatar were cited as major reasons why he won both the 2022 FIFA The Best Men's Player of the Year award and the 2023 Ballon d'Or.
Messi still had a superb second half of the 2022/23 Ligue 1 season, contributing to 14 goals in 19 appearances as Paris Saint-Germain won the league once again and was instrumental in Inter Miami claiming their first-ever trophy with the Leagues Cup.
However, his best performances for PSG came in the first half of the season, where he was involved in 17 goals in 13 matches in Ligue 1 and also directly contributed to eight goals in six appearances in the UEFA Champions League group stage.
PSG's disappointing exit in the second round of the Champions League as well as the Coupe de France disappointment in the Round of 16 both came in the second half of the season, with Messi unable to inspire his side to better results against Bayern Munich and Marseille, respectively.
His performances with Inter Miami, though spectacular, are hardly worthy of note in the context of an award like FIFA's The Best Men's Player of the Year, lending further credence to arguments that Messi, who is now considered a front-runner for the award, should not have been a nominee in the first place.
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