Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland have been named the three finalists for the FIFA Best Men’s Player (The Best) award for 2023.

After being chosen by an expert panel, a total of 12 players were first nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Player award.

In the end, nine candidates—Juan Alvarez, Marcelo Brozovic, Kevin De Bruyne, Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen, and Declan Rice—had to be defeated by Messi, Mbappe, and Haaland to secure a spot in the top three.

The award typically only considers accomplishments made between December 19, 2022, and August 20, 2023, per the voting criteria. Thus, the World Cup final that takes place on December 18, 2022, will not be taken into account.

Messi is still highlighted with his accomplishments with Argentina at the 2022 World Cup on the FIFA homepage, though. Prior to joining Inter Miami, Mbappe, an Argentine sensation, won the Ligue 1 championship with PSG, following this one with Messi and Neymar.

In the last 14 games for Miami in the US, Messi has contributed five assists and 11 goals, or roughly 42% of his total accomplishments.

Mbappe is listed as the runner-up after losing to Messi’s Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, in addition to Messi. Following the 2022 World Cup, Mbappe is just behind the former German striker’s all-time World Cup scoring record. 4 goals from Miroslav Klose.

The former German international played in 24 games over four tournaments, scoring 16 goals. The French captain, who is only 24 years old and will still play in many future World Cups, currently has 12 goals in 14 matches in 2018 and 2022.

Mbappe, though, was thought to be undeserving of a spot in the top 3. The France captain had scored 17 goals in 20 games during the performance phase in Ligue 1, but he lost steam after PSG was eliminated from the 1/8 Champions League.

Erling Haaland is most likely going to win FIFA The Best this year, as the FIFA homepage also listed him as one of the three players who advanced to the final round.

“Man City’s offensive machine was unstoppable, frightening defenses in both domestic and European leagues as Pep Guardiola’s team won the titles and the club’s first treble. The Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League were highlighted on the FIFA homepage.

Not counting the Norwegian striker’s assists, Haaland scored 36 goals in 44 games during the time frame that FIFA used to compute accomplishments.

FIFA not only revealed the rankings of the top three male players but also the rankings of the top three male football coaches, which are Luciano Spalletti (Napoli and Italy), Pep Guardiola (Man City), and Simone Inzaghi (Inter). Lionel Scaloni, an Argentine coach, was the recipient of this award the previous year.

Aitana Bonmati, Linda Caicedo, and Jennifer Hermoso were declared the top three finalists in the women’s division for the FIFA Best Women’s Player Award for 2023.