FIFA has announced the final shortlist for the winner of the best player of the year award for 2022.
Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi have been announced as the three finalists for the award. The nominees were announced on the official website of the world governing body, FIFA on Friday, February 10th, 2023.
Lionel Messi got himself a nomination in the final three because of his performance with Paris Saint Germain in the league last season. He was also a key part of the Argentina team that won the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup. The 35-year-old scored seven goals in the competition.
He won the best player award of the tournament, an award he won at the World Cup in Brazil. Messi became the first player to receive the honour twice.
Karim Benzema was nominated for the award following his exploits for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League last season (2021/22). The French International inspired the Galacticos to winning their 14th Champions League title.
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He scored hat-tricks against Paris St Germain in the round of 16 and Chelsea in the quarter-finals, he bagged three goals across two legs as Real eliminated Manchester City in the semi-finals. The forward player finished as the tournament's highest goal scorer with 15 goals. Real Madrid emerged Champions by beating Liverpool 1-0 in the final courtesy of a goal from Vinicius Jnr.
Kylian Mbappe needs no introduction, the youngster has shown the quality he is made up of since he broke into the limelight at the Russia 2018 World Cup. The PSG midfielder showed like a million stars for his club last season and the French national team but unfortunately did not win the World Cup for France at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
Mbappe netted eight goals to win the tournament’s Golden Boot and he became the first player in 56 years to score a hat-trick in the World Cup final. He helped PSG win the Ligue 1 last season (2021/22) by registering 39 goals and 26 assists.
