Mbappe voted for Messi, Messi picked Haaland

Lionel Messi has been named FIFA's best men's player for the second straight year, edging past Erling Haaland by the narrowest of margins.

Messi and Haaland, were tied on 48 points but the Argentinian was declared the winner over the Norwegian on the basis of having more five-point score votes from captains of national teams.

Every coach and captain of national teams under FIFA voted for three players, awarding five points to their first pick, three to their second and one to their third.

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How Messi won FIFA best player award 2023

Messi voted as the captain of Argentina and the Inter Miami player picked Haaland as his first choice, followed by Kylian Mbappe, who finished third, and fellow countryman Julian Alvarez.

Mbappe, who also voted as the captain of France, named former PSG teammate Messi as his first choice, followed by Haaland and Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne.

Haaland couldn't cast a vote as he is not the captain of Norway.

In the coach's category, Messi picked his former Barcelona coach and the current Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola as the first choice, who won in the category, followed by current Barca coach Xavi and Italy coach Luciano Spaletti.