Lionel Messi receives criticism from a German international legend

Yesterday, Lionel Messi was revealed as the winner of FIFA's Best Men's Player of the Year of 2023. Messi was able to beat off the other two finalists, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Mbappe ranked third out of the three, while Haaland placed second. The award was judged by the player's performances after the 2022 World Cup to the end of the previous season.

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The scoring points between Messi and Haaland were tied at 48, while Mbappe had only 35 points. Messi had more men national team captain votes than Haaland, which was the ultimate tiebreaker between the pair. Messi's win is questioned since the voting for this award does not include his 2022 World Cup win with Argentina.

Messi, during the judging time period FIFA gave, won Ligue 1 with PSG and the Leagues Cup with Inter Miami. He was awarded in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season as well as providing the most assists than any other player in the league with 16 assists. He was also ranked second in goal contributions with 32, two behind Mbappe with 34.

In the Leagues Cup, Messi was the top goal scorer with ten and also had the most goal contributions in the whole tournament, with 11. Many football legends have expressed their thoughts on this win. Some agree to give the award to Messi since they believe the player is individually better than both Mbappe and Haaland. Others believe the lack of significant trophies puts him under Haaland and Mbappe.

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Lothar Matthaus can't believe Messi won after winning no major trophies

German international legend Lothar Mattaus expressed his feelings towards the Messi win over Haaland. He disagrees that Messi was awarded the Player of the Year because of his performances with Inter Miami and PSG do not compare to Haaland's season with Manchester City.

The Inter Milan and Bayern Munich legend said, "He has been in Paris and Miami and not won any major titles. He can't be the winner this time. I think he was the best footballer of the last 20 years, but he has been in Paris and Miami, where he is now creating a hype, and not won any major titles.”