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World Cup-winning captain and 2022 Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi and Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Puttelas win the Global Player of the Year.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR FEMALE – ALEXIA PUTTELAS
On February 4, 1994, in a municipality in the province of Barcelona, Alexia Putellas was born. Her Catalan heritage has been a major influence on her career. She used to accompany her father to Nou Camp to watch Barcelona games when she was a young fan.
Alexia Putellas has won every major club trophy available to her since moving to Camp Nou in 2012. Six Primera División championships, six Copa de la Reina trophies, and a victory in the UEFA Women’s Champions League final are among her accomplishments.
The 28-year-old led Barcelona to a domestic treble and the third straight season in the Spanish League. Putellas led her team to 30 victories in league play, tallying 18 goals and 15 assists.
She twice participated in Barca’s Champions League victories in front of record-breaking crowds of more than 90,000 spectators at the Nou Camp, where she twice scored. After falling to French team Lyon in the Champions League final, the Catalan club was unable to win the competition for a second time in a row.
When Putellas sustained an anterior cruciate ligament injury on the eve of Euro 2022, she was forced to miss the entire competition as Spain were eliminated by eventual champions England in the quarterfinals, bringing her season to a disappointing end.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR MALE – LIONEL MESSI
Lionel Messi as the Male Player of the Year for 2022 may be the simplest choice of the year.
Messi has had a fantastic season in 2022–2023 so far. Messi took the initiative earlier this month as Argentina defeated France on penalties to win the FIFA World Cup, ending their 36-year drought. Messi was named the tournament’s Player of the Year and took home the FIFA Golden Ball for his seven goals and three assists.
For PSG, the 35-year-old has also been putting on a show. Messi has contributed 14 assists and 12 goals to the Parisians’ offence in 19 games this season across all competitions.
The Golden Ball was won by Messi for the second time in his career after 2014 thanks to his efforts to push Argentina over the finish line (he is the first player to win the prize twice). He is the first player in World Cup history to score in all four semifinals, the championship, and the round of 16 in the same tournament.
With his participation in the championship game, he surpassed Lothar Matthaus’ previous mark of 26 World Cup appearances to take the top spot. Additionally, he scored 13 goals to surpass Gabriel Batistuta as Argentina’s all-time leading scorer at the competition by three goals.
Since 1966, Messi has contributed to 21 goals during the World Cup, which is a World Cup record.
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