After much debate and discussion, Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or. His successful World Cup campaign with Argentina in 2022 became a critical reason for his Ballon d’Or victory. Since the World Cup holds more weight than Erling Haaland‘s treble, the soccer world applauded Messi’s achievement. Last year, he won FIFA’s Best Men’s Player award for the World Cup win. It indeed was a fitting honor to be the world champion. And now, FIFA has again nominated Messi as a finalist for The Best Men’s Player award. However, ‘Is this year truly Messi’s?’ is the question that is worrying most soccer pundits after the word about the nomination got out.

Notably, Messi’s World Cup win is not a criterion for The Best Award. This award takes into account the player’s contributions between December 19, 2022, and August 20th, 2023. It leads to questions on whether the Inter Miami star has had a better year than other short-listed candidates, including Manchester City’s treble winners.

Is Lionel Messi impressive enough for a FIFA honor in 2023?

During the said period, Lionel Messi has played 32 matches for PSG, Inter Miami, and Argentina, with 24 goals in his tally. The numbers are fairly impressive for a 36-year-old veteran. Anyhow, numbers don’t hold great significance unless they convert into titles for a team. Messi won the Ligue 1 with Paris Saint Germain and a Leagues Cup with Inter Miami in 2023. But, his Inter Miami run got cut short after the team failed to reach MLS playoffs.

However, it is surprising that Messi, with these two titles, has now surpassed players such as Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Ilkay Gündogan, and Julian Alvarez in the race to be ‘The Best.’ These four players won the treble and a UEFA Supercup for Manchester City in 2023 and were also short-listed for The Best Men’s Player Award. The World Cup giving Messi an edge over Haaland in the Ballon d’Or race was much more understandable. The Ligue 1 trophy and a non-European title like the Leagues Cup having more value than the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup titles is quite a surprise.

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When numbers gave players an advantage in the race to be ‘The Best?’

Given the list of final nominees who panned out, the statistics of Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe have given them an advantage over others. However, this is not happening for the first time. Earlier in 2019, despite not winning the UEFA Champions League, Lionel Messi surpassed the winners to claim that year’s The Best awards. Likewise, Robert Lewandowski also won the FIFA honor once on the back of his numbers, despite failing to win the UCL. All these suggest the awards have specific criteria for the player to win.

READ MORE: Lionel Messi vs Kylian Mbappe vs Erling Haaland: Stats & Trophies Compared for ‘The Best FIFA Player’ Calendar Year

Yet, a better stat pad has given Messi an edge over players boasting four major European titles. If Messi wins it, it will be his record fourth award. Moreover, it will be the first time an MLS player gets hands on the honor. To sum up, the Argentine surpassing the likes of Erling Haaland’s teammates remains a mystery and a subject of debate.

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