Mbappe, Messi named The Best 2022 finalists

FIFA announced the three finalists for the Men's Player of the Year award to be named as part of The Best 2022 ceremony later this month. PSG forwards Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi made the final three along with Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

Messi and Mbappe faced each other in the best World Cup final in history a little over two months ago. They will be fighting each other on the ballots once more through February to see who ends up winning The Best 2022 Men's Player of the Year award.

PSG puts two players in the final three, along with fellow France international Karim Benzema, who quit on the French national team playing in Qatar even though he got called up by coach Didier Deschamps. Benzema later announced his retirement from international competitions, and he is not expected to represent Les Bleus in the future anymore.

Mbappe already lifted the World Cup trophy back in 2018 when he won it for his nation as a teenager, reaching his second final in as many attempts last December.

Messi denied Mbappe of his second World Cup by winning his first one and completing his case to be named the absolute GOAT of the sport without any possible argument remaining to be made against him. Messi led Argentina to their third World Cup triumph and the first one since former GOAT Diego Maradona did it in the last century.

The official ceremony of The Best awards and the actual naming of the winner of the Men's Player of the Year accolade will take place on February 27th. The ceremony will be held in Messi and Mbappe's hometown of Paris and the winner will come out of a field of 14 initially-shortlisted players among which a panel of experts voted for the best of them all.