When appearing on the red carpet, the former Man City player beamed in an interview with the press. However, the smile disappeared from Mr. Alfie Haaland’s face when Lionel Messi’s name was announced during the award ceremony.

Because The Best award does not count performances at the 2022 World Cup, Haaland with his treble with Man City emerged as the number one candidate for this award. However, the final winner is still Messi. Haaland sadly finished second for the second time in a row. Before that, he also lost to Messi in the race to win the France Football Golden Ball.

According to the announcement from FIFA, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland have the same total number of points (48). Messi received 13 points from the votes of national team captains and fans around the world, while Haaland received support from coaches and the media.

However, according to Article 12 of the voting rules, in case there are 2 players with equal points. The winner will be determined through votes from national team captains around the world.

Messi was voted number one by 107 national team captains, while Haaland only received 64 votes. This means victory for the captain of the Argentine national team. However, Messi did not attend the gala in Switzerland to receive the award.

During the period from December 19, 2022 to August 20, 2023, Messi scored 26 goals, assisted 12 times, won the Ligue 1 championship with PSG, then continued to lift the North – Central American Championship Cup with Inter Miami. Regarding individual awards, Messi won the King of Assists award in Ligue 1 last season and was the best player in the North-Central American Federation Cup.