Real Madrid legend furious at watching Lionel Messi win FIFA The Best award

Lionel Messi won the FIFA Best Men's Player of the Year last night, and the football community has been talking. Many agree the Argentine deserved it and acknowledge him more as the greatest footballer ever to play the game. Others have expressed their shock about the win due to Erling Haaland's accolades and achievements in 2023 with Manchester City.

Related News: Lionel Messi receives criticism from a German international legend

The controversy behind the win is FIFA's time period they set to judge the finalist's performances. The time period was after the 2022 World Cup and ended in the summer of 2023. Messi won a Ligue 1 title with PSG and a Leagues Cup with Inter Miami during the second part of the previous season. Haaland won a historic treble with Man City and led the goalscorer charts for the Premier League and in Europe.

Germany's international legend, Lothar Mattaus, expressed his thoughts on Messi winning The Best Award over Haaland. He believes the trophies Messi won weren't as major as compared to the Norwegian in the second part of the 22/23 season. Mattaus said, "He can't be the winner this time... he has been in Paris and Miami, where he is now creating a hype, and not won any major titles.”

Another football legend who responded to the win was Cristiano Ronaldo. It was an indirect response to Messi's win as he posted a picture on Instagram with a caption saying, "Back for more!" He wasn't the only Real Madrid legend to post on social media after FIFA revealed Messi as the winner.

Related News: The first post of Cristiano Ronaldo after Messi won The Best

Iker Casillas wrote on X that the award for Messi was not fair

After the FIFA Best Ceremony, Iker Casillas went on X to write his opinions of the awards as Messi beat Haaland to it. He wrote, "You create some nice awards, and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly. 'The Smile' award more like." The former Real Madrid keeper continued, mocking the formation of the FIFPro World XI, becoming a 1-3-3-4 formation.

"1-3-3-4; it's not a lottery number, it's not a telephone code number of a country, it's not my iPhone password, it's a new system in football! For the next World XI, it's better to put a 1-10 formation."