Lionel Messi named The Best FIFA Men's Player for 2022
Lionel Messi has won the The Best FIFA Men's Player award for 2022, beating rivals Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to the award.
The Argentina star pulled out a set of career-defining performances during the World Cup in Qatar late last year, helping the South Americans win the title for the first time since 1986.
Messi won a second World Cup Golden Ball in Qatar, also becoming the first player to score at every stage in the tournament and its record-holder for most appearances with 26 games.
Receiving the award, he said: "Wow, it's amazing. It's been a tremendous year and it's an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award.
"Without my team-mates I wouldn't be here. I achieved the dream I had been hoping for for so long. Very few people can achieve that and I have been lucky to do so."
The 35-year-old has also shown more form with club side Paris Saint-Germain after an initially tricky departure from Barcelona. PSG won Ligue 1 in 2021/22 and are well set again to do so this season, though work is needed in the Champions League having lost the first leg 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
It's another individual award for Messi's bulging collection. He previously won the prize in 2019 and has seven Ballon d'Or trophies.