Confused about the World Cup when voting for FIFA The Best 2023

According to Portuguese national team coach Roberto Martinez, he and many others made a mistake when voting for the FIFA The Best 2023 award – a controversial award given to Lionel Messi instead of Erling Haaland.

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Martinez explained that he voted for midfielder Marcelo Brozovic to win The Best 2023 because he was unsure whether the performance in the 2022 World Cup was considered. Brozovic had a successful 2022-2023 season, securing third place in the World Cup with Croatia and winning the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, and reaching the Champions League final with Inter.

"It was a mistake," Martinez told Portuguese newspaper A Bola when asked about voting for Brozovic. "For me, individual awards in football are challenging. I believe individual players represent the team. Both Brozovic and Bernardo Silva, as well as players who reached the Champions League final and won domestic honors, what about them? Brozovic represents the team's ideas, representing what Croatia is doing. But I made a mistake in the voting period for the award."

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez

Martinez believes that others also made similar mistakes by voting based on the candidates' performances in the 2022 World Cup, leading to Messi winning The Best, despite a less impressive 2023 than Haaland. "I don't think I'm the only one who made that mistake," the Portuguese national team coach said. "When you look at the vote counts, I think many people were more interested in the World Cup performance."

According to the results announced at The Best awards ceremony in London on January 15, Messi and Haaland tied with 48 points each. However, the Argentine forward won due to receiving more votes from the captains of national teams, as stipulated in FIFA's voting rules.

Messi winning the award was a surprising result because The Best 2023 considered performances from December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023. The achievements in the 2022 World Cup – which concluded on December 18, 2022, with Argentina winning the title – were beyond the voting period.

During this time, Messi played 37 matches, scored 26 goals, and provided 12 assists for PSG, Argentina, and Inter Miami. Meanwhile, Haaland shone with 36 goals in 44 matches, significantly contributing to Manchester City's historic treble with the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, and later the UEFA Super Cup. The Norwegian forward also broke several records and won numerous individual awards, including Best Player, Outstanding Young Player in the Premier League 2022-2023 awarded by the tournament organizers, and the European Golden Shoe, an award for the top goal-scorer in national championships.

Former Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas ridiculed this year's FIFA The Best voting results as a "joke," while German football legend Lothar Matthaus believed Messi didn't deserve the award. The German football legend emphasized Haaland's contributions to Manchester City's historic treble – including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup – overshadowing Messi's achievements.

Cristiano Ronaldo – the top scorer in 2023 but not nominated for The Best – even stated that the award is losing credibility. "The new numbers are facts," the Portuguese forward said.

Marca's parody photo

Earlier, the Spanish newspaper Marca published an image predicting the future of the Argentine superstar. Specifically, the image with the caption "FIFA The Best Award 2066" depicts Messi wearing a suit, with white-gray hair, receiving the award.

Thierry Henry received the FIFA The Best 2023 award on behalf of Messi

Messi was absent from the awards ceremony, so football legend Thierry Henry accepted the award on behalf of the Argentine captain. Messi is the player who has won The Best the most times since its inception, being honored eight times in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2022, and 2023. He has yet to comment on receiving the 2023 award on social media.