Messi beats out Mbappé to win FIFA’s best male soccer player of 2022 award

FIFA on Monday named Argentinian World Cup champ Lionel Messi and Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas as the best male and female soccer players in the world in 2022.

Messi, who currently plays for the club Paris Saint-Germain, previously won The Best FIFA Men’s Player award in 2019. In December, he led the Argentinian national team to a FIFA World Cup win, breaking the all-time record for most World Cup match appearances.

In the final round of voting, Messi beat out Kylian Mbappé, the French star whom he faced in the World Cup final.

Putellas was also named The Best FIFA Women’s Player for 2021. She plays for FC Barcelona Femení and the Spanish women’s national team, where she holds the record for most games played.