• Lionel Messi narrowly beat Erling Haaland to win the FIFA Best Men's Player Award, with the voting tied before captains' votes broke the tie in Messi's favor.
  • Haaland, at 22 years old, made a strong case to beat Messi who has dominated for over a decade, coming extremely close to winning.
FIFA Best Men's Player Award: How Haarland lost Out Despite tying with Messi!

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The FIFA Best Men's Player Award has been awarded to Lionel Messi, who narrowly defeated Erling Haaland. But just how close was the voting? It is closer than you think.

Following the conclusion of the awards ceremony, FIFA revealed the official voting breakdown, which includes national team coaches and captains, journalists, and fans. At the end of the voting, Messi and Haaland were tied on 48 points.

Ties are broken by comparing which player received the most votes from national team captains, according to FIFA rules. Messi won the coveted award despite a slight advantage in captain voting.

In an unusual twist, Messi, as Argentina's captain, voted for Haaland to win the award. But it was not quite enough for the Norwegian goal machine to overcome Messi's overall support.

At the age of 22, Haaland made a compelling case to dethrone Messi, who has dominated the award for over a decade. And he came dangerously close to accomplishing that feat. Messi's enduring excellence, however, triumphed, earning him yet another FIFA Best Men's Player award.

The razor-thin margin between the two only sets up a thrilling rivalry for next year's award, as Haaland appears poised to overtake Messi as soccer's brightest star. This year proved beyond doubt that Messi's dominance is coming to an end.  

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