Approximately six days after FIFA organized its 2023 Best Awards, Lionel Messi is yet to publicly accept his award. The silence has been as deafening and controversial as the award itself.
It’s not like the Argentine took a social media break and forgot to flaunt his latest trophy. Since Thierry Henry accepted the award on his behalf at the Apollo Center on January 15, Messi has shared three posts – an ad for Adidas and Apple TV and one for Inter Miami’s start of pre-season friendlies.
A quick check at the previous times Messi has won individual awards shows that the 36-year-old often shares a post of gratitude thanking his teammates, the organizers of the award and whoever voted for him. Heck, he even uploaded a photo of his top scorer and best player awards in the 2023 Leagues Cup with Miami.
So why the silence after winning is arguably the best individual award after the Ballon d’Or?
He was adjudged to be the best player of 2023, beating young hotshots in Erling Haaland and his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate, Kylian Mbappe.
It is no secret that the former Barcelona captain rode on his 2022 World Cup triumph with Argentina to win all the individual awards in 2023, including a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or. Deservedly.
From December 19 onwards, Messi only won the Ligue 1 trophy and the aforementioned Leagues Cup after moving to North America. This is completely dwarfed by what Haaland achieved in the same timeframe, whichever way you look at it.
Apart from plundering in a million goals (Pep Guardiola’s words), the Norwegian won the treble, which included the elusive Champions League title for Manchester City.
The final score for the awards had the two tied at 48 points a piece, but Messi was declared the winner for having more first-place votes according to the Rules of Allocation.