Lionel Messi was crowned winner of the FIFA Best Men’s award despite finishing level in the voting with Manchester City star Erling Haaland.
Messi was confirmed as winner of the award for a third time, with the Argentine legend edging out Haaland despite the Norwegian’s role in Man City’s Treble last season.
Both Messi and Haaland scored 48 points after the votes were counted, while Kylian Mbappe finished third with 35 points.
Messi was ultimately declared the winner after receiving the most first-choice nominations from national team captains.
The votes of the national team captains, coaches, media and fans were collected, resulting in a tie for first place.
Messi defeated Haaland thanks to the votes of the national team captains and fans, scoring 13 points to the striker’s 11.
Inter Miami star Lionel Messi was crowned the best FIFA men’s player for the third time
Messi finished level in the voting with Man City starter Erling Haaland with 48 points
Haaland missed out on the award because Messi received more votes from national captains
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The votes of coaches and media favored Haaland by the same numbers, leading to a draw.
The winner was determined based on the highest number of ‘five-point’ scores from votes cast by the men’s national captains under the rules of the award.
Messi scored a total of 107 five-point scores to lift the award, while Haaland received 64.
One of the captaincy votes Haaland received was from Messi, with the Argentine star putting the Norwegian in first place.
France captain Mbappe chose his former PSG teammate Messi as his first choice.
England captain Harry Kane was among those who voted for Messi over Haaland, with the duo being his top two choices, with Bernardo Silva third.
Liverpool trio Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson also voted for the Inter Miami star over their Premier League rivals.
Egypt captain Salah picked Messi, Kevin De Bruyne and Haaland as his top three, while Man City teammates rotated in Van Dijk’s squad.
Liverpool and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah was among the captains who voted in favor of Messi
Messi was also selected as England captain Harry Kane’s first choice in the awards voting
Robertson picked the final top three in order, captaining South Korea and Tottenham Son Heung-min votes the same way.
Haaland had the support of some of Man City’s rivals in the Premier League.
Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard, his teammate at international level with Norway, gave the forward his first choice.
Man United defender Victor Lindelof, the Sweden captain, put aside the Red Devils’ rivalry with Man City with his selections.
Lindelof placed Haaland above Messi in the voting, while also choosing Silva for his third place.
Unsurprisingly, Haaland was backed by former Man City captain Ilkay Gundogan.
The German national team captain gave the nod to Haaland over Messi, while also giving his former midfield partner Rodri a third-place finish.
Everton full-back Seamus Coleman gave De Bruyne his top spot ahead of Haaland, while the Republic of Ireland captain put Messi in third.
Northern Ireland captain Johnny Evans also voted for Messi, but chose Mbappe second, ahead of Haaland.
Man United defender Victor Lindelof was among the captains who voted in favor of Haaland
Real Madrid stars Luka Modric and Federico Valverde voted in favor of Barcelona legend Messi.
The duo placed the 36-year-old above Mbappe and Haaland, two stars heavily linked with moves to the Spanish giants.
Modric left Haaland and Mbappe out of his top three altogether, with his votes for second and third going to Rodri and Croatian teammate Marcelo Brozovic.
Valverde replaced Mbappé and Haaland in second and third place respectively.