On December 19, Goal announced the list of 2023 Goal50 winners, and Messi beat Haaland and Bellingham to successfully be elected as the Goal50 Male Player of the Year.
GOAL's official evaluation of Messi is as follows:
After leading Argentina to lift the Hercules Cup in Qatar last December, Messi started his 2023 season as a World Cup champion. Messi returned to Paris to win his second Ligue 1 title, scoring 21 goals and 20 assists in all competitions in his final season at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
Messi, whose contract expired, chose to continue his adventure in the MLS, scoring 14 goals in his first 11 games with Inter Miami and leading the team to the first championship trophy in team history.
Messi, at the national team level, has led Argentina to a very strong start in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, with five wins in six matches. With his outstanding performances for club and country, he won a record 8th Ballon d'Or.
This is the seventh time Messi has won the top spot in the Goal50 competition, two more than his eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who has missed the Goal50 shortlist for the first time this year.
In addition to Messi, this year's top 50 players in the Goal50 include Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, Kylian Mbappe and Kevin De Bruyne.
The Goal50 selection began in 2008 and was decided by a panel of experts until 2021, and from 2021 onwards it was entirely voted on by fans.