For the second time in a month, Lionel Messi had defeated Kylian Mbappe. The last time the two faced off was in the gripping 2022 FIFA World Cup final between Argentina and France.
After trailing 2-0 until the 80th minute of regulation time, Mbappe went on to score a scintillating hat-trick to help his country force a penalty shootout. The two players once again displayed their superiority.
On the other hand, Lionel Messi guided Argentina to the greatest success by winning the coveted World Cup and scoring twice in the championship game.
A 23-year-old Mbappe had to experience the heartache, whereas the “La Pulga” was the crowning achievement of his legacy for the divine magic he displayed during his career.
In addition, the Frenchman lost out on the Golden Ball, which would have been his if he had successfully defended his world title a second time.
French publication L’Equipe awarded Lionel Messi its athlete of the year.
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By capturing the one title he had been missing out on for the previous three years, the World Cup, Lionel Messi brought a flawless conclusion to his 2022.
As seen by his record-setting five man-of-the-match honors during the competition, the Argentina captain was a force to be reckoned with, putting on a scorching performance in each of the seven games his team played in Qatar en route to victory.
Messi won the Golden Ball for the best player of the competition as a result of his incredible 7 goals and 3 assists.
While Mbappe did defeat his PSG teammate by outscoring Messi by eight goals to win the Golden Shoe and take home the award, the France striker was visibly upset as he passed the most significant trophy that was displayed there.
Nearly three weeks after that, the former Barca talisman has now defeated Mbappe to win L’Equipe’s athlete of the year award. Messi defeated the “NexGen” star to solidify his legacy in Qatar.
In order to win the title of “Champions of Champions” given by the French magazine, Messi has eclipsed some of the most outstanding athletes ever.
The 35-year-old scored 801 points in total to win the prize by an astounding 427 points over Mbappe, who finished in second place and scored 381 points.
As stated, the seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or triumphed over competitors like F1 driver Max Verstappen (196 points), cyclist Remco Evenepoel (252 points), and tennis great Rafael Nadal (285 points).
What’s more significant is that Messi is receiving this coveted accolade from L’Equipe for the first time in his career.
Messi had a 2022 that included 51 appearances for both club and country, 35 goals, and 35 assists. The World Cup was unquestionably the icing on the cake.
He won the IFFHS World’s Best Player award as a result, beating out Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe.
Lionel Messi is now expected to add a spectacular eighth Ballon d’Or to his cabinet, which already has seven awards there, as a result of all the individual and group accomplishments.
The controversy would surely be resolved and Messi’s record-extending seventh Ballon d’Or would be awarded if PSG won the Champions League, where they have already advanced to the Round of 16.