‘Scandalous’: mixed reactions to Messi’s The Best win

The Argentine star won the award for a record third time, but many disagreed with the accolade

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi winning a record-breaking third The Best FIFA Men’s Player award left few uninterested. The Albiceleste captain wasn’t the favorite for the award and some felt Messi getting the nod was unjustified when compared to what Manchester City and Norway striker Erling Haaland had achieved.

Former Real Madrid and Spanish national team goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who has battled Messi many times in the Spanish derby, took to X to rant about the decision.

“You create some lovely awards, then ruin them by not making things fair,” wrote Casillas. The goalie also criticized the 3-3-4 formation used to decide the FIFA/FIFPRO World XI, where they select a lineup with the 11 best players of the year. Casillas argued that it isn’t a realistic football lineup.

Former Germany team captain Lothar Matthaus, who previously lambasted Messi’s 2023 Ballon d’Or win, agreed. “He can’t be the winner this time. I think he was the best footballer of the last 20 years, but he’s been in Paris and Miami, where he is now creating hype, and has not won any major titles,” told Matthaus to Sky Deutschland.

Chief sports reporter for The Times of London, Martin Ziegler, called Messi’s win a “very strange decision,” adding that the award should’ve gone to Haaland.

The most shock came, understandably, from Norwegian outlets. “With all due respect to Messi, who is the best of all time for me, the year he had in comparison to the impact Haaland had, I would call [Messi’s win] scandalous,” said former midfielder Carl-Erik Torp, commenting on the ceremony for Norwegian broadcaster NRK.

Another former player, Jan Aage Fjørtoft, took to X to criticize the decision. “If awards like this want to have credibility amongst players they need to stop this,” he wrote. “…the prizes will end up being worthless.”

However, there was support for Messi, with the Albicelste captain receiving congratulations from teammates like Emiliano “Dibu” Martínez and Nicolas Tagliafico, the Argentine Football Federation, Inter Miami and even former team FC Barcelona.

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