Lionel Messi led Argentina to the World Cup crown in December in Qatar. (USA TODAY Sports)
After winning the World Cup in December, Lionel Messi was listed as one of the three finalists for the FIFA Men’s Best Player award, FIFA announced on Friday.
Messi, who performs for Paris St-Germain in French Ligue 1, led Argentina to its third World Cup as he captured the elusive trophy for the first time in his storied history.
Two players who competed for France against the Argentines in the final are among the finalists – PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.
The winner will be announced in Paris on Feb. 27.
The award is voted for by an international jury respectively comprising the current coaches of all men’s national teams (one per team), national team captains (one per team), one specialist journalist from each territory represented by a national team and fans registered on FIFA.com.
The final three nominees for The FIFA Puskás Award were also named:
Marcin Oleksy (Poland): Warta Poznań v. Stal Rzeszów [PZU Amp Futbol Ekstraklasa] (Nov. 6, 2022)
Dimitri Payet (France): Olympique de Marseille v. PAOK Thessaloniki FC [UEFA Europa Conference League] (April 7, 2022)
Richarlison (Brazil): Brazil v. Serbia [FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022] (Nov.22, 2022)
