While Manchester City had a spectacular night, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi surprised everyone by taking home the trophy for the third time, beating out Erling Haaland.

Messi led Argentina to World Cup success in December 2022, but the award only covered the time from August 2023 forward.

After a quiet final season with Paris Saint-Germain (during which they won League 1), the 36-year-old signed with Major League Soccer club Inter Miami in June.

After helping the team—which David Beckham co-owned—win the League Cup in August, Messi made an immediate impression in America.

In his first season at City, the English club won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League, and Haaland scored 52 goals, making him the clear favorite to win.

Messi was declared the winner due to a higher number of first-choice nominations, even though he received an equal amount of points from a scoring system that relies on votes from national team captains, coaches, journalists, and fans.

Third place went to Kylian Mbappe, who was Messi’s teammate at the club.

The decision to nаme Bonmati the finest wоmen’s player was less contentious because she had already won individual accolades for her contributions to Spain’s 2023 World Cup victory and Barcelona’s 2023 Champions League triumph.

In recent months, the 25-year-old has won multiple awards, including the Ballon d’Or, the Golden Ball for World Cup player of the tournament, and UEFA’s player of the year.

“A couple of weeks ago when 2023 came to an end I was nostalgic because 2023 was an exceptional and unique year I will remember for the rest of my life,” Bonmati stated.

“I’m proud of being part of a powerful generation of wоmen who are changing the rules of the game and the world.”

The first-ever Champions League victory for City was orchestrated by Pep Guardiola, who was subsequently crowned best coach.

Included in Haaland’s team of the year were five players from his club: John Stones, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, and Kyle Walker.

Mbappe, Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid, Vinicius Junior of Portugal, Jude Bellingham of England, and Messi, made up the eleven.

The me𝚗’s goalkeeper of the year was Ederson of City, while the wоmen’s was Mary Earps of England and Manchester United.

After guiding the Lionesses to the World Cup final, Sarina Wiegman was named the wоmen’s coach of the year by the English national team.

The Brazilian me𝚗’s squad took home the fair play trophy after making history by donning all-black jerseys in solidarity with striker Vinicius, who endured multiple instances of racial abuse while playing for Real Madrid in the previous season.

The finest goal, awarded by the Puskas trophy, went to Botafogo’s Guilherme Madruga of Brazil for his breathtaking overhead kιck.