He beat out his Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema to take home the coveted award.

Messi’s victory was fueled by his incredible performance at the 2022 World Cup, where he led Argentina to their first triumph in 36 years.

This season, Messi has continued to amaze, scoring 16 goals and registering 14 assists in 27 games in all competitions as he chases his second League 1 title in two years at PSG.

The player said, “I want to express my thanks to Scaloni and my teammates; without them I would not be here.” He added, “It’s a dream for any player; very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so.”