CELEBRITY
Messi wins Fifa’s The Best men’s player of the year, Spain’s Putellas claims women’s award
Lionel Messi hailed a “tremendous” year after winning Fifa’s The Best men’s player award for 2022 on Monday, as Argentina scooped all major men’s prizes after winning a vintage World Cup final in December.
The 35-year-old forward scored two goals in the final against France, with the South Americans emerging triumphant on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time in Qatar.
“It’s amazing. It was a tremendous year and it is an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award,” said Messi, who sat next to France forward and Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe throughout the ceremony at Paris’ Salle Pleyel.
Mbappe, also nominated for the highly anticipated award of the night, netted a hat-trick in the World Cup final but his achievement was overshadowed as Messi finally won the most coveted trophy in world football.
Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema of Champions League winners Real Madrid had been the other contender to claim the prize.
“I want to express my thanks to (coach Lionel) Scaloni and my teammates, without them I would not be here,” Messi added.
“I achieved a dream I had been hoping for so long and finally I achieved it. It’s a dream for any player, very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so.”
It is the second time Messi has won the honour inaugurated by Fifa in 2016 after football’s world governing body split from Ballon d’Or organisers France Football. He has won the Ballon d’Or seven times.
The award is voted for by national team coaches and captains, journalists and also fans.
Given his status as Argentina captain, Messi voted for another of his PSG teammate, Brazilian forward Neymar, ahead of Mbappe, according to the Daily Mail.
Messi’s compatriots Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez won the Coach of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year awards respectively, and Argentina supporters even got the best fans prize.
On the sidelines of the award, the Argentine football federation announced that Scaloni has signed a new contract until the 2026 World Cup.
The 44-year-old, who took over the role in 2018, agreed to the new deal while attending the ceremony.
“Argentine football chief Claudio Tapia and Lionel Scaloni met to finalise the extension of his contract until 2026,” a statement from the federation read under the headline “Continuity assured”.
Scaloni also led Argentina to the Copa America title in 2021 – the Albiceleste’s first international trophy since 1993.
The England women’s team, meanwhile, were rewarded for their victorious women’s Euro 2022 campaign.
Mary Earps was named Goalkeeper of the Year and England’s Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman received the accolade for best coach of a team who had four players in the year’s World 11 – Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh.
Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who won the Ballon d’Or in 2022, was named women’s Player of the Year after inspiring Barcelona to a third consecutive national title in 2022.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who is the captain of Barcelona, beat Mead and United States star Alex Morgan to add the Fifa crown to the Ballon d’Or, which she has also won two years running.
Polish amputee Marcin Oleksy won the Puskas prize for best Goal of the Year for a spectacular acrobatic volley with Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.
–AFP
CELEBRITY
Over a million subscribe as Ronaldo launches YouTube channel
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ronaldo.png)
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.
The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.
A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.
Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.
-Reuters
CELEBRITY
Lionel Messi set to hang boots
![Messi Sets Record Straight Over Hong Kong Absence -](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Messi-Sets-Record-Straight-Over-Hong-Kong-Absence.jpg)
Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.
Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.
“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.
“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”
The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.
Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.
-Reuters
CELEBRITY
Bidding opens for Messi napkin that defined soccer great’s career
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/messi-napkin.jpg)
Bidding began on Wednesday for a napkin on which soccer club Barcelona penned a promise to sign a 13-year-old Lionel Messi – who went on to become one of the game’s greatest players – with early bids reaching almost $300,000.
The napkin was signed in December 2000 when Carles Rexach, then Barcelona’s sporting director, agreed with agent Horacio Gaggioli to recruit the Argentine teenager who went on to become the club’s all-time top scorer.
Bidding for the document, described by auction house Bonhams as “blue ink on a standard Spanish waxy napkin,” was at 220,000 pounds ($274,824.00) shortly after the sale opened, according to the auctioneer’s website.
The online sale closes on May 17 and has a guide price of between 300,000 and 500,000 pounds.
“It was never legally binding, but emotionally it represents the deep link or the beginning of the deep link, that Messi had with Barcelona,” said Bonhams Chief Marketing Officer Marc Sands.
Messi helped Barcelona win 35 titles, making a record 782 appearances and scoring 674 goals. Messi left Barcelona in 2021 and now plays for Inter Miami.
“If you love football, you’ll know all about Lionel Messi and you will know that he defined football for generations. If you want a slice of that action, this is the thing to get,” Sands said.
-Reuters
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