Manchester City Treble winner, Erling Haaland, is to go head-to-head with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in a bid to be crowned FIFA Men’s Best for 2023.
The football governing body had announced a list of 12 stars put forward for consideration back in September, but the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Victor Osimhen and Declan Rice have now been dropped from contention.
The 12 nominees were chosen by a panel of experts, but the final three were determined by an international jury made up of men’s national team coaches and captains, journalists and fans who voted on FIFA’s website.
Messi is defending his Best Men’s Player award, having scooped the gong in 2022 after leading Argentina to World Cup glory. He then won Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain before joining Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami, United States.
Mbappe was a beaten finalist in Qatar despite dragging France to a penalty shootout with a hat-trick and was PSG’s leading goalscorer as they went on to scoop the top-flight title.
Haaland was a key cog in Manchester City’s dominant 2022/23 campaign when they won the treble, netting 52 goals in all competitions. 36 of those came in the Premier League as the Norwegian set a new record for most strikes in a single season among numerous other feats.
Messi claimed the award for the second time in 2022 after Robert Lewandowski was awarded same back-to-back in 2020 and 2021.