Messi wins the Best FIFA Men’s Player title over Mbappe and Benzema.

Lionel Messi, a forward for Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina, has earned the Best FIFA Men’s Player honor a second time.

At the presentation on Monday in Paris, Messi defeated rivals Kylian Mbappe of his club and Karim Benzema of Real Madrid to win the prize.

The award covers the time beginning with the 2021–22 season and ending with the World Cup, where Messi ended Argentina’s 36–year drought of winning the competition.

After scoring seven goals and providing assists on three more, former Barcelona superstar Messi won the Golden Ball award in Qatar, which is presented to the best player of the competition.

Mbappe, the leading scorer, also contributed to 10 direct goals, but that was not enough to earn the France forward his first Best FIFA honor.

In 34 games during his first season at Parc des Princes, Messi had a poor start at PSG by his own lofty standards, scoring 11 goals and dishing out 14 assists.

Prior to the World Cup, the 35-year-old, who has previously won a record seven Ballons d’Or, equaled those numbers in his first 18 games this season.

Together with Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski, Messi is one of only three players to have won the Best FIFA award twice. He also placed second three times.