Tuesday, June 16, 2026

FIFA lists Messi, Benzema, Mbappe for best player award

Winner of the award will be announced on February 27.

• February 10, 2023
Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe (Credit: FIFA)
Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe (Credit: FIFA)

Argentine talisman Lionel Messi, French internationals, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe have been shortlisted for Best FIFA Men’s Player award.

FIFA made this announcement in a statement on Friday.

“The final three nominees for The Best FIFA Men’s Player are (in alphabetical order): Karim Benzema (France / Real Madrid CF), Kylian Mbappé (France / Paris Saint-Germain FC), Lionel Messi (Argentina / Paris Saint-Germain FC),” FIFA said.

Winner of the award will be announced on February 27.

For leading his country to the World Cup victory, Messi made the list and stands another chance of winning the prestigious award.

Messi, 35, in Qatar 2022, netted seven goals, equalling Diego Maradona’s eight World Cup goals record and also became Argentina’s highest World Cup goal scorer, breaking Gabriel Batistuta’s record. 

Mbappe also had a nice outing during the tournament, scoring eight goals, out of which four were in the final against Argentina. 

However, Benzema missed out in the tournament due to injury but had a fantastic season with Real Madrid last season.

We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.

More from Peoples Gazette

farmers

Agriculture

FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology

The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices

Katsina State

Politics

Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku

“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”

Police officers

Heading 5

Oyo police recover additional firearms, exhibits after arrest of five suspected armed robbers 

He said the interrogation of the suspects led to the recovery of additional exhibits linked to the case.

Photo at the crash scene

Heading 2

U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber crashes shortly after takeoff at Edwards Air Force Base

The number of casualties and those on board are yet to be ascertained.

Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE)

Economy

Nigeria’s food inflation at 17% worrisome, weakening household purchasing power: CPPE

The NBS, on Monday, reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation rate rose slightly to 15.93 per cent in May 2026 from 15.69 per cent in April.