Overview of the FIFA Awards As Messi, Pep, and Others Received Honors

January 23, 2024
FIFA Awards

Football Stars Barometer by Betzillion: Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Others Reviewed

Football is one of the most important sports in the world. Since it has many followers across the globe, betting on the sport is also on the rise. We can help you stay informed about what’s happening in football. Let’s share some information about the event in light of the just-concluded 2023 FIFA Award Night.

Live Updates: Lionel Messi Secures FIFA Best Awards 2023 Prize; Bonmati, Guardiola, and Wiegman Recognized

Messi FIFA Awards

Lionel Messi won his record 8th Ballon d’Or in 2023, but the Argentina skipper appears not to be stopping yet as he bagged the Men FIFA Best Award. Bagging the award for the third time, he edged Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé, who took the second and third positions.

It has caused an uproar in the football nation, as some believe he doesn’t deserve the award.

Messi is not the only one whose award is questioned, as the England National Women’s Coach Sarina Wiegman’s Best Female Manager award also raised some controversy.

We will analyze the January 15th event in London by discussing comments from readers. We will also discuss other top awards at the event, including the newly introduced award in honor of the Brazilian legend Marta.

Puskás Award Voting Results – Santos Emerges as Fans’ Top Choice

The Puskás Award remained one of the honors many looked out for at FIFA Award Night. It honors Ferenc Puskás, who had many stunning goals in his collection. With the top incredible goals scored between December 2022 and August 20, 2023, contesting for this award, the votes from expert Panelists and fans determine the winner.

While Guilherme Madruga won with an overall score of 22 points, the voting shows fans preferred Nuno Santos’s goal with 18 points. Comparing the goals, Madruga scored an overhead kick against Novorizontino for Botafogo-SP, while Santos scored a daring 15-yard Rabona kick for Sporting against Boavista.

A closer look at the voting shows that 11 out of 18 points that Santos got are from the fans, as opposed to Madruga’s 9. But the Panelist votes came through for the Brazilian, with 13 points against Santos’s seven from the Panelists. Even Brighton’s Julio Enciso’s long-range stunner gathered more points (11) from the Panelists.

The total points for the FIFA Puskás award are 50, and Madruga’s 22 points were enough to clinch the award. You can check the table below for the full breakdown of the votes.

Rank Names Panelists Points  Fans Points Total
1 Guilherme Madruga 13 9 22
2 Nuno Santos 7 11 18
3 Julio Enciso 11 6 17

Reader Feedback: Questioning Wiegman’s Selection as the Best Coach

Another exciting 2023 FIFA Award Night award that got people talking was the Best Coach award given to England’s Sarina Wiegman. Manchester City’s Boss, Pep Guardiola, won the men’s version of the award, and everyone believes he deserves it with his team’s incredible treble in 2023. But we can’t say the same for Wiegman’s accolade, as some believe other candidates should have won it.

The Dutchwoman won two trophies with the in-form English women’s team and even made it to the finals of the World Cup. Since she couldn’t deliver the World Cup, which the Spanish National team won, some football fans believed she didn’t deserve it. Some football fans blamed the final loss on her poor selection and choice of substitute.

Some suggested Jonatan Giráldez, the in-form Barcelona Femeni team coach, should have won the accolade. The poll says otherwise, with Wiegman (28 points) gapping the second-placed Chelsea Women Boss, Emma Hayes (18 points). Jonatan Giráldez came in third with 14 points. She has won the FIFA Women’s Manager of the Year for the fourth time, previously winning in 2022, 2020, and 2017.

Women national team coaches, captains, football journalists, and fans determined the polls for this award. The voting is on the official FIFA website. You can see the poll results below.

Rank Name Coaches Captains Media Fans Point scored
1 Sarina Wiegman 688 791 627 169,193 28
2 Emma Hayes 356 359 297 122,871 18
3 Jonatan Giráldez 320 284 339 120,842 14

Subscriber Niko N Raises Doubts on Men’s Award Winner: Messi’s World Cup Triumph vs. Haaland’s Club Season Brilliance

The FIFA Men’s Best Player Award has always been the event’s highlight, and the 2023 Award wasn’t an exception. The three finalists were Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappé, and Lionel Messi, with the latter winning it despite not being present at the event.

You would agree that the best football odds are in the World Cup, English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and other major league matches quite popular on Betzillion. With Messi winning the World Cup and Haaland winning the U.C.L. and EPL, the tied result of the top candidates wasn’t too surprising. They both scored 48 points, while Mbappé scored 35.

The Argentine Captain won it because he had more first-place votes than the others, but some of our readers have contrary opinions. For instance, Niko N believes Haaland’s impact on Manchester City’s treble weighs more than Messi’s World Cup victories. The subscriber also believed Messi didn’t perform well at the club level despite helping P.S.G. win their 11th league title.

Many believed Lionel Messi is still the best, judging from how the poll went, as he received the most first-place votes from national team coaches, captains, journalists, and fans. Since he was absent, his former teammate and co-host, Thierry Henry, received the award on his behalf. Kylian Mbappe and Haaland were on the Men’s World 11 line-up; you can check the full 11 via this tweet.

Tally of Votes for Coach Awards

Looking at the coaches’ category of the awards, the winners gapped their runner-ups by 10 points each. It shows Both Guardiola and Wiegman had impressive campaigns in 2023. Pep Guardiola led Manchester City’s team to the UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, and F.A. Cup titles.

Despite losing in the final of the World Cup, Sarina Wiegman also had an impressive campaign. She won the Arnold Clark Cup and the Women’s Finalissima for the Lioness. Compare the margin of votes for the two categories below:

Men’s Coach:

  • Pep Guardiola – 28 points
  • Luciano Spalletti – 18 points
  • Simone Inzaghi – 11 points
  • Xavi – 11 points
  • Ange Postecoglou – 4 points

Women’s Coach:

  1. Sarina Wiegman – 28  points
  2. Emma Hayes – 18  points
  3. Jonatan Giraldez – 14  points
  4. Peter Gerhardsson – 7
  5. Tony Gustavsson – 5

Thierry Henry Unveils the Marta Award: A New Annual Honor for the Finest Goal in Women’s Global Football

The Women’s Best Player award, won by Spain and Barcelona Femeni’s Aitana Bonmatí, was one of the highlights of the women’s category at the awards. She won 52 points, ahead of Linda Caicedo (40 points) and Jennifer Hermoso (36 points), and the Six-time Winner, Marta, received recognition.

Marta gave an emotional speech, encouraging women around the world. The host, Henry, then announced that FIFA will start giving a new award in her name starting next year. It will be the female version of the Puskás Awards for the best goals scored by female footballers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who has the most FIFA Men’s Player of the Year?

Lionel Messi has the most FIFA Men’s Player Award after winning it for the 3rd time in January 2024. While retaining the award from 2022, he first won it in 2019. Lionel Messi won the 2023 edition of the FIFA Men’s Best Player. He had 48 points from the poll, tying with Erling Haaland, and the body crowned him because he had more first-place votes.

Who is the FIFA Women’s Best Player for 2023?

Aitana Bonmatí won the 2023 Women’s Best Player Award, inspiring Spain to the triumph of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. She also won titles with Barcelona. Linda Caicedof, Real Madrid, is in second place.

Dipo Olowookere

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan.

Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

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