Why Lionel Messi beat Erling Haaland to FIFA Best Award despite pair having same number of votes

Another day, another trophy for Messi

Messi narrowly beat Erling Haaland to the trophy, while Kylian Mbappe - his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate - came third.

The Argentine started 2023 in France with PSG before making the move to the MLS to join Inter Miami in the summer.

After scoring nine goals for PSG, Messi went on to grab 10 in seven for Inter Miami as he guided his new side to their first-ever piece of silverware, the inaugural Leagues Cup.

Haaland meanwhile scored 52 goals in all competitions as Manchester City won a historic Treble.

The FIFA Best Awards are usually measured over the course of a calendar year as oppose to the Ballon d'Or, which is over the course of a season.

As the Qatar World Cup was included in last year's ceremony, this year’s award only covered a half-season period.

Following the outcome of the vote, the results were published on FIFA's website in which it was revealed that Messi and Haaland actually finished on the same level of points.

In order to choose a winner, Messi was selected ahead of Haaland after he received more first-placed nominations from national team captains.

Among those were names such as Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson, Aaron Ramsey and Luka Modric.

Ilkay Gundogan and Casemiro voted for Haaland, as did Messi himself.

Related links:

• Nottingham Forest could face legal action from agents owed ‘significant sums’
• Dean Gaffney run over by Chelsea star on night out
• Jurgen Klopp singles out the one Liverpool star ‘everybody loves’