Erling Haaland Beats Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe to Be Crowned IFFHS Player of the Year

• Erling Haaland has been declared the IFFHS best player of the year for 2023
• Haaland beat Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to the statistical award
• It is a revenge of sorts after missing out on the Ballon d'Or to Messi

Erling Haaland finally got the better of Lionel Messi in an individual award after he was declared the Best Player of 2023 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics(IFFHS).

Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 appearances in his debut season for Manchester City as they won the treble, including the Champions League on June 10.

Pep Guardiola's side have since followed it up with wins in the Super Cup and the Club World Cup, though Haaland missed the latter with a foot injury.

Despite his impressive trophy collection and goals, the Norwegian phenom was still beaten to the 2023 Ballon d'Or Awards by Messi in a ceremony held in Paris on October 30. Messi won a record-extending eighth crown after guiding Argentina to World Cup glory last year.

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Haaland was forced to settle for second in the Ballon d'Or race. This time, however, in the IFFHS awards, the numbers were reversed, with the 23-year-old striker adjudged to have had a better season than the Inter Miami forward.

In fact, Messi settled for third, with Kylian Mbappe coming in second. Haaland won by a landslide, garnering 2018 points compared to Mbappe's 105 and Messi's 85.

Jude Bellingham's perfect start to life in Madrid has seen him usurp Kevin De Bruyne in the top five.

2023 IFFHS Best Player Ranking

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The awards were reintroduced in 2020, with Robert Lewandowski winning it back-to-back years before Messi scooped last year's price ahead of Karim Benzema.

Ronaldo snubbed from 2023 list

Sports Brief has also reported that Cristiano Ronaldo has been snubbed from the top 100 list of the best football players in 2023.

The Al-Nassr superstar has enjoyed an incredible 2023, having already scored 50 goals across competitions this year for both club and country.

The haul includes three hat-tricks for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, with his 50th goal coming on December 11 against Al-Shabab in the King Cup of Champions.