Messi grinned as he took the stage at the Salle Pleyel, not far from the Arc de Triomphe in the French capital. “It’s a great pleasure to be back,” said the Paris Saint-Germain superstar. Messi last held the trophy in 2019. Even then he had surpassed his eternal adversary Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five awards. Now Messi has succeeded the recently twice honored Pole Robert Lewandowski.
“This year has been incredible. I was able to fulfill my biggest dream that I’ve been working towards for so long. It means so much to me,” Messi said of the world title. “It’s the most beautiful, the biggest, the greatest thing that’s happened to me in my career. It’s the best thing that can happen to a football player.” In club football, “La Pulga” had already won everything there was to win with FC Barcelona. He was also champion with PSG last year.
Scaloni as expected coach of the year
As expected, world champion coach Lionel Scaloni was awarded Coach of the Year. The 44-year-old prevailed against Carlo Ancelotti from Champions League winners Real Madrid and Josep Guardiola from England champions Manchester City. On the day of the award ceremony, Scaloni also sealed his contract extension with the Argentine federation until 2026. “It’s the best thing when you can make the people in your country cheer,” he said of the World Cup triumph in Qatar in December.
Argentina’s men cleared big. The world goalkeeper title went to Emiliano Martinez. In addition to Messi, his PSG club colleague Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema on the offensive, ex-Salzburg Erling Haaland also made it into the world selection. The team was elected exclusively by professional footballers together with the players’ union FIFPro. Real Madrid goalie Thibaut Courtois was also taken into account there instead of Martinez. Benzema missed the World Cup injured after being awarded the Ballon d’Or in the autumn.
Trophies also for European champions
For women, both awards went to the same player. Putellas also won the FIFA election for the second time after the Ballon d’Or, although the 29-year-old midfielder was recently struggling with an injury. For the second time after 2017, the Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman, who had led England to the European Championship title, was chosen as the best coach. The best goalkeeper Mary Earps is also part of the successful English team.
The show started emotionally. Pele was posthumously awarded an honorary award. The Brazilian football icon died at the end of last year at the age of 82. His widow accepted the silver cup from former world champion Ronaldo. “Pele is immortal,” said world association president Gianni Infantino. Former world footballer Ronaldo and Pele’s former teammate Jairzinho paid tribute to the three-time world champion. Important milestones in the exceptional footballer’s unique career were shown in a video accompanied by Pele’s statements.
Ex-WAC player Lochoshvili receives fair play award
The FIFA gala also had a reference to Austria. Former WAC pro Luka Lochoshvili, who now plays for Serie A club US Cremonese, received the FIFA Fair Play Award. Lochoshvili probably saved the life of Austria player Georg Teigl on February 27, 2022 together with Christopher Wernitznig. After a collision, Teigl fell unconscious to the ground. Lochoshvili had immediately recognized the seriousness of the situation and saved Teigl from swallowing his tongue. According to his own account, Wernitznig had previously failed. Teigl suffered serious head injuries but is now healthy again.
Lochoshvili, who plays with ex-Rapidler Emanuel Aiwu in Cremona, was there via video link in Paris. “I would like to apologize for not being able to be there because we have a game tomorrow,” the 24-year-old Georgian began his speech. “This is of course a huge honor for me, I would like to thank you very much. I’m very happy about that, but I’m even happier that we were able to save a player’s life. I am very happy that he is doing well. I wish everyone the best and above all health, which is the most important thing in life.”
The winners of the FIFA elections
- world footballer: Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain)
- World Player: Alexia Putellas (FC Barcelona)
- Welttrainer: Lionel Scaloni (Argentina Team Principal)
- Welttrainerin: Sarina Wiegman (England Team Chief)
- World Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
- World Goalkeeper: Mary Earps (Manchester United)
- FIFA world selection men: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid) – Achraf Hakimi (Paris SG), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City/Bayern München), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) – Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Casemiro (Real Madrid /Manchester United) – Lionel Messi (Paris SG), Kylian Mbappe (Paris SG), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund/Manchester City)
- FIFA World Selection Women: Christiane Endler (Lyon) – Lucy Bronze (Manchester City/Barcelona), Mapi Leon (Barcelona), Leah Williamson (Arsenal), Wendie Renard (Lyon) – Alexia Putellas (Barcelona), Keira Walsh (Manchester City/Barcelona), Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg) – Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride/San Diego Wave), Sam Kerr (Chelsea), Beth Mead (Arsenal)
- Puskas Award: Marcin Oleksy (Warta Posen)
- FIFA Fan Award: Argentina national team fans
- FIFA Fair Play Award: Luka Lochoshvili (WAC/US Cremona)