The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 results and list of winners as Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati win prizes

Joe Wright ,
Dominic Booth
• 14 min read
Aitana Bonmati FIFA The Best
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Lionel Messi took home yet another individual award after being named The Best FIFA men's player of the year for the second year in succession.

The Argentine superstar saw off stiff competition from nominees Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to win the prize, after he won the 2023 Ballon D'Or towards the end of last year.

Meanwhile, the key player in Spain's 2023 Women's World Cup success, Aitana Bonmati, was named The Best FIFA women's player of the year. Bonmati is without question the leading player in the women's game, having earned domestic and European success with her club Barcelona in 2023 as well. Linda Caicedo and Bonmati's Spain teammate Jenni Hermoso had been the other nominees.

The ceremony, staged in London and hosted by former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry and British sports broadcaster Reshmin Chowdhury, saw the great and the good from world football come together – although Messi was not in attendance to collect his award.

Pep Guardiola was named the Best men's coach of the year, while several members of the Manchester City side he guided to the treble in 2023 – Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Bernardo Silva and Kevin de Bruyne – were named in the FIFPro men's best XI. Real Madrid trio Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr were also included, as well as Haaland and Messi.

England head coach Sarina Wiegman was awarded The Best women's coach of the year, while Lionesses Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Alessia Russo, Lauren James, Ella Toone and Keira Walsh were all named in the FIFPro women's best XI, alongside Bonmati and her Spanish teammate Olga Carmona. Australia's Sam Kerr and USA legend Alex Morgan made up the rest of that team.

Earps also won the Best women's goalkeeper of the year while another City player, Ederson, scoooped the men's prize for Best goalkeeper.

The FIFA Puskas award was given to Guilherme Madruga for his spectacular overhead kick goal for Brazilian team Botafogo.

The FIFA fair play award went to the Brazil senior men's team for the stance they took in the wake of the racist abuse suffered by their player Vinicius Jr while he was playing for Real Madrid. They wore an all-black kit for the first time to show support for Vinicius. Brazilian legend Marta was honoured with the FIFA Special Award after calling time on her playing career in 2023.

The Best Awards were started in 2016 as FIFA's alternative to the Ballon d'Or, which split from its partnership with the football governing body around that time. While it lacks the prestige of France Football's long-running prize, The Best is nonetheless a desirable trophy as it is a mark of recognition from a player or coach's peers as well as fans and media from across the world.

The Sporting News followed the ceremony live from London and provided updates from the gala, as well as the final list of winners.

MORE: The results of the 2023 Ballon d'Or, in which Lionel Messi made history

The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023: Result, list of winners

All times local (GMT)

9.30pm: And that's where we'll leave you for this live blog. Scroll down for a summary of all the night's winners and nominees. Thanks for joining us!

9.25pm: What a year it's been for Aitana Bonmati. She's won everything in the game.

9.20pm: There's been plenty of debate around Lionel Messi pipping Erling Haaland to the Best men's player award. It's especially strange when you consider Messi's World Cup exploits with Argentina were in 2022, and in 2023 he moved away from Europe to MLS, while Haaland smashed goal records en route to a treble.

Still, the Messi effect means he will always be revered by fans, players and everyone else in the game. He's now won FIFA's The Best three times since the ceremony started in 2016, while he has eight Ballon D'Or awards to his name too.

Not everyone was impressed tonight, including Erling Haaland's dad Alf Inge.

9.11pm: That brings to an end the ceremony – but stay tuned as we bring you plenty of reaction to those awards.

9.10pm: Bonmati says: "It's been an exceptional and unique year that I will remember for the rest of my life. I'm very proud of the award but I owe this to the teams that I played with, Barca and the Spain national team. Without all my teammates, I wouldn't be here picking up this award and I wouldn't be the player I've become today." She thanks her family and friends and congratulates the other nominees.

"I'm proud to be part of a strong generation of women who are changing the game," she adds.

Aitana Bonmati is named The Best FIFA women's player of the year. Very much deserved. She was integral to Spain's success at the 2023 World Cup in Australia and was outstanding for her club Barcelona, helping them win the Spanish domestic title and the UEFA women's Champions League too.

Lionel Messi wins The Best FIFA men's player of the year award. He cannot be in attendance to claim the award in person, so Thierry Henry jokingly takes the award in his place!

9pm: The awards are now taking time to celebrate the career of Brazilian footballing great Marta, who called time on her professional career in 2023 and gets the FIFA special award.

8.50pm: After a musical interlude, it's now time for the big one(s) – the Best player of the year award. First up the men's. The nominees are Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.

8.45pm: The next award is the FIFA Best fan award and here's the recipient, who brings up his infant son to take the prize with him! The baby isn't too happy about it.

8.35pm: The FIFA Puskas award is next up, celebrating the most outstanding goals of the year. Guilherme Madruga of Brazilian second tier outfit Botafogo wins it for this frankly outrageous goal.

8.21pm: The awards take a backseat now as the ceremony pays moving tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton, Mário Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer who all sadly died in 2023.

8.18pm: The FIFA fair play award is now handed out. And it goes to Brazil's senior men's team for their anti-racism stance taken in the wake of the racist abuse received by Vinicius Jr while playing for Real Madrid in La Liga.

8.15pm: The Best men's goalkeeper of the year is Ederson! He didn't make the team of the year but he was part of that all-conquering Man City side, of course.

8.10pm: The next award to be handed out is The Best women's goalkeeper of the year. And it's no surprise at all to see Mary Earps collect the prize. It's been quite the year for the Manchester United shot-stopper.

8 pm: Here's the FIFAPro women's world XI:

Earps; Bronze, Carmona, Greenwood; Walsh, James, Toone, Bonmati; Morgan, Kerr, Russo

Maybe a surprise not to see more Spain players named in that side. It's very Lionesses heavy.

"It's in the best place it's ever been, obviously," says Lucy Bronze when asked about the rise of the women's game.

7.55pm: The Best FIFA women's coach of the year is... Sarina Wiegman! Maybe a surprise choice but England did reach the World Cup final in 2023. "Here I am again," she says humbly, before thanking her backroom staff, her family and her Lionesses players.

7.45pm: The FIFPro men's world XI is as follows:

Courtois; Walker, Stones, Dias; Bernardo Silva, Bellingham, De Bruyne; Messi, Haaland, Mbappe, Vinicius Jr.

Yes, that's pretty much Manchester City's team, isn't it. And it's in an ultra-attacking 3-3-4 formation!

7.40pm: The Best FIFA men's coach of the year award goes to Pep Guardiola. He led Manchester City to a brilliant Treble in 2023, including Premier League and Champions League successes. An inevitable but deserved winner of the prize.

Guardiola says he wants to share the award with fellow nominees Simone Inzaghi and Luciano Spallettii, as well as the Manchester City owners, staff and his players "without exception". He says: "Leaving with them [the players] has been an incredible pleasure these last few years." Guardiola also thanks his 92-year-old father, as well as the rest of his family.

7.35pm: The hosts for this evening's event are former Arsenal and France superstar Thierry Henry, alongside the presenter Reshmin Chowdhury. It's montage time now.

7.25pm: We're just minutes away now from the ceremony getting under way. There will be the usual nonsense beforehand, no doubt, so it may be a little while before the awards are actually handed out. Either way, we've got you covered.

7 pm: Watching a Mary Earps interview is always good fun. Can she add another gong to her collection, after winning the BBC's SPOTY at the end of last year?

6 pm.: The ceremony will start properly in around an hour and a half. Stay tuned for the latest.

5.45pm.: A reminder that tonight's ceremony is held in London, but Lionel Messi – the huge favourite to claim the main award – will not be present. There will be lots of other big names in attendance, of course.

5 p.m.: Need a quick reminder of what this is all about? Here's one from FIFA itself.

4 p.m.: Lionel Messi is the holder and the winner of the most recent Ballon d'Or, but Erling Haaland is the favourite to win the men's player prize tonight. You can see the full list of nominees for each prize further down this page.

3.30 p.m.: The ceremony is due to start in about four hours' time, but the famous faces are already arriving in London. That includes tonight's host, who knows this city rather well...

3 p.m.: Today is the day that The Best FIFA Football Awards are given out for 2023 (yes, we know it's actually 2024. It's how FIFA does these things).

Lionel Messi will hope to add the men's player prize to his Ballon d'Or win, while Ballon d'Or Feminin holder Aitana Bonmati could make history if she can complete the double in the women's category.

What time does The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 start?

FIFA's The Best Awards for the 2023 calendar year will take place on Monday, January 15, 2024 in London, with the ceremony beginning at 7:30 p.m. local time in England.

Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:

  Date Start time
USA/Canada Mon, Jan. 15 2:30 p.m. ET
USA/Canada Mon, Jan. 15 11:30 a.m. PT
UK Mon, Jan. 15 7:30 p.m. GMT
Australia Tue, Jan. 16 6:30 a.m. AEDT
India Tue, Jan. 16 1 a.m. IST

The Best FIFA Football Awards 2024 live stream, TV channel

  • Date: Monday, Jan. 15, 2024
  • Time: 7:30 p.m. local GMT (2:30 p.m. ET / 11:30 a.m. PT)
  • TV Channel: None
  • Live Stream: FIFA+
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The 2024 FIFA The Best Awards ceremony takes place in London on Monday, with the ceremony beginning at 7:30 p.m. local time in the UK.

The ceremony is streamed exclusively on FIFA's free streaming service FIFA+, which is available online worldwide or on various smart devices in many global markets, including Samsung TV+, LG, and Roku.

MORE: Watch UEFA Champions League in the United States on Paramount+

FIFA The Best 2023 nominations

From an initial list of 12 players nominated, FIFA cut that to three, with the same three players shortlisted in 2023 as in 2022.

Men's Player

  • Lionel Messi (Inter Miami / Argentina)
  • Kylian Mbappe (PSG / France)
  • Erling Haaland (Manchester City / Norway)

Women's Player

Spain star Aitana Bonmati won the 2023 Ballon d'Or Feminin and she is predicted to win the FIFA The Best 'double' ahead of La Roja teammate Jenni Hermoso.

  • Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona / Spain)
  • Jenni Hermoso (FC Pachuca / Spain)
  • Linda Caicedo (Real Madrid/Deportivo Cali / Colombia)

Men's goalkeeper

Messi's Argentina teammate Emiliano Martinez has not been nominated to defend his title from 2022 after not being included on the initial five players shortlist.

  • Yassine Bounou (Sevilla/Al Hilal / Morocco)
  • Thiabaut Courtois (Real Madrid / Belgium)
  • Ederson (Manchester City / Brazil)

Men's Coach

Lionel Scaloni won the 2022 award, after leading Messi and Argentina to the 2022 World Cup title, but the 2023 shortlist is made up of club managers.

  • Pep Guardiola (Manchester City)
  • Simone Inzaghi (Inter Milan)
  • Luciano Spalletti (Napoli/Italy)

Women's Goalkeeper

England star Mary Earps could be set to retain her title in the 2023 awards but the Manchester United stopper faces two fresh challengers this time.

  • Mary Earps (Manchester United / England)
  • Cata Coll (Barcelona / Spain)
  • Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham United / Australia)

Women's coach

The 2022 winner Sarina Wiegman is again on the 2023 shortlist and her competition comes from two club managers.

  • Sarina Wiegman (England)
  • Jonathan Giraldez (Barcelona)
  • Emma Hayes (Chelsea)

FIFA Puskas Award

The FIFA Puskas Award is always highly sought-after as it honours the best goal scored that year and three special strikes have made it onto the final list.

  • Julio Enciso (Brighton & Hove Albion )
  • Guilherme Madruga (Botafogo CF)
  • Nuno Santos (Sporting Lisbon)

FIFA Fan Award

The FIFA Fan Award acknowledges fan gestures and shows of support to their team with the list decided by FIFA experts.

Author(s)
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Joe Wright
Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News.
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Dominic Booth
Dominic is a freelance content editor and writer for The Sporting News.
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