Mbappe, Messi, and Benzema named finalists for FIFA Best Men’s Player award

World Cup winner Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema have been named the finalists for The Best FIFA Men's Player award 2022, on Friday.

Messi and Mbappe, who faced each other in the recent World Cup final, are competing along with Benzema to succeed Robert Lewandowski, winner of the FIFA award in 2020 and 2021. Benzema lost his chance to play at the Qatar World Cup due to his injury but has charmed many supporters of his game skills.

Four groups of voters, that includes coaches, captains, journalists, and fans, were given a 14-player shortlist to chose their first, second and third picks for the prize. The three players with the highest scores would move on to the final voting. Voters will once again be asked to select between Benzema, Messi and Mbappe to win the prize.

According to FIFA, the accolade recognises the players' performances between August 8, 2021 and December 18, 2022.

Only Messi has ever won the award, among the three finalists.