The Best FIFA Awards: Who voted for who? Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe back Lionel Messi but Pepe snubs Argentina hero

Lionel Messi claimed The Best FIFA Men's Player award by the narrowest of margins having recorded the same amount of points as Erling Haaland, a breakdown from FIFA has revealed.

The award was decided by national team players and captains, journalists and fans on FIFA’s website, each counting for 25%, and FIFA has released the full list of who voted for who.

For the second consecutive year, the men's award was won by Messi, whilst Spain and Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati took the women's prize.

The final vote for the men's award couldn't have been much closer but as Messi had more first-place nominations from national team captains than Haaland, he was honoured with the prestigious prize at the ceremony in London.

Messi was perhaps an unlikely winner, given the voting period did not encompass Argentina's run to the 2022 World Cup trophy.

Now a three-time winner, Messi chose Haaland over his former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe, while he gave his third vote to compatriot and Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez.

Messi was also the first choice of Mbappe, who was third overall, and Haaland.

This time around, France manager Didier Deschamps gave his vote to Mbappe, unlike last year when he controversially chose Karim Benzema over his own player.

Cristiano Ronaldo did not feature in the Men’s Best XI and did not cast a vote, with his Portugal team-mate Pepe instead taking on the responsibility. Interestingly, the legendary Porto defender did not include Messi in his top three choices – instead he opted for Bernardo Silva, Haaland and Victor Osimhen.

Gareth Southgate also omitted Messi from his top three with the England manager instead selecting an all-City trio of Haaland, Rodri and Silva, although the World Cup winner was top of Harry Kane's list.

You can read the full list of who voted for who here.

- - -

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.