Lionel Messi’s search for an answer to the critical world footballer question initially led to an advertisement for Saudi Arabia. The Argentine world champion remained publicly silent for several hours the morning after his eighth and most questionable FIFA freestyle.
His picture in the pink jersey of Inter Miami, the club that has little international significance, in front of the “Riyadh Season Cup” was the latest post on social media for a long time. And didn’t that say everything about this prize, which was supposed to be the most important?
The world footballer – who should that be?
Messi – and not Erling Haaland – was honored in his absence in London for his 2023 year. More specifically for the services in the period from December 19, 2022 (after the World Cup final) to August 20. Former Dortmund player Haaland won the treble with Manchester City during this time and impressed with a number of wonderful goals. Messi was noticed by his exit in the round of 16 in the premier class and his interim suspension from Paris Saint-Germain – and the gigantic transfer issue before his move to the USA in the summer.
“I think he was the best footballer of the last 20 years, but he didn’t win any major titles with Paris and Miami, where he is now creating hype,” said Lothar Matthäus, the only German world footballer, on Sky. Former Bundesliga professional Jan Aage Fjörtoft, as a Norwegian in danger of being biased, asked: “How can Erling Haaland not be the best player in 2023?” With such results, he said, prices would “eventually become worthless.”
Who chose whom – and why?
The crux of the FIFA election, which was similarly controversial in 2013 with the defeat of Bayern Munich’s treble winner Franck Ribéry against winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi, is the voting system. The captains of the national teams, the national coaches, the media and journalists are entitled to vote. It’s not just titles and goals that count. The simple answer: Messi was recognized (again) for his life’s achievements. As long as the Argentine plays, everyone else has a hard time.
This is matched by Messi’s great popularity among fans (613,293 points compared to 365,893 for Haaland) and Haaland’s great popularity among the specialist media, who tend to look more at results (729 points compared to 315 for Messi). Overall, Messi was only ahead in the converted FIFA points system with a tie of 48:48 because more captains chose the 36-year-old with their first vote. Including Harry Kane. DFB captain Ilkay Gündogan was in favor of his former teammate Haaland.
“I would say it’s a scandal,” said former Norwegian professional Carl-Erik Torp on the Norwegian television station NRK – but he didn’t have a particularly large majority behind him.
Scandal? Or never mind?
The international media saw Messi’s eighth freestyle, which gave the title collector an even clearer lead compared to his long-time rival Ronaldo (five), as a side note. The “What the Haal?” in reference to the (translated) “What the hell?” from the English tabloid “The Sun” was the catchiest headline. Haaland did not comment on the non-election, his father Alfie, who was sitting in the hall of the Hammersmith Apollo in London, only spoke publicly about his son’s injury problems: “It’s going much better, so he will be ready soon.”
So the question remained as to what individual awards in world football actually represent. As in previous years, German national players didn’t have to worry too much about an answer. Gündogan came ninth in the final tally with 13 points as the best DFB professional.
