No surprise to see Leo Messi crowned best player of the year 2022, completed in the collective triumph of world champion Argentina and the personal glory of one of the greatest players in the history of football, finally holder of the Jules Rimet Cup, the only one he lacked. Monday evening in Paris, the Pulga won the FIFA Best trophy. It is both deserved and logical for a prize awarded by breeders, captains of selections and journalists.
Already ultra-favorite for the Ballon d’or France Football 2023, the number 10 of the Albiceleste has consolidated his lead in the minds of the jurors of the magazine. But the greatest individual distinction on the football planet now devotes a season, which leaves a small doorway to success for a competitor. The one who will win the Champions League on June 10.
At the time of the balance sheet, the star player of the victorious C1 team will print the retina and the head of the voters, just before their choice. The World Cup will then be a bit far away. Ideally, to extinguish all suspense, Leo Messi, therefore PSG, should raise the Cup with the big ears. Or at least climbs into the last four of the competition.
A Benzema-style scenario to crown Mbappé?
It remains to be seen whether with such a course the hero would be called Leo Messi or Kylian Mbappé, who is also applying for the Ballon d’Or. He is vice world champion, top scorer of the tournament in Qatar, author of a hat-trick in the final and currently dominates the ranking of scorers and in Ligue 1 and the Champions League. He would necessarily be active in a brilliant career for the capital club in the European Cup.
Basically, he would need a scenario like Karim Benzema from last season to reverse the choice now made, it seems, to award Leo Messi the eighth Ballon d’Or of his career. By qualifying Paris almost single-handedly at every turn to lead his team to the final, Mbappé would greatly increase his chances of overtaking his elder in the final sprint.
The FIFA Best can also be read as a mid-season progress report, with Leo Messi in the lead and two pursuers, the second being Kylian Mbappé and the third Karim Benzema, winner of the Champions League but forfeited in Qatar . A sign of the major impact of the UEFA event in the minds of any jury.
In the event of the elimination of PSG by Bayern Munich in the round of 16, the Argentinian would remain the huge favorite for the Ballon d’Or but he will have to be wary until the end of the current season. The simplest thing, and even supporters of Kylian Mbappé will subscribe to this advice, is for Paris to continue on its way past the German obstacle. And they won’t mind either if Messi steps up to the plate by scoring a hat-trick at the Allianz Arena on March 8.