FIFA will announce the winners of The Best 2023 awards on Monday, January 15, in a ceremony that will be held in London, England. Thibaut Courtois is in the running to win in the goalkeeper category, but he dared to share his thoughts on the best player tier, which has Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, and Kylian Mbappe as finalists.
âItâs always great to play against them. In the Champions League, for example, I managed to keep Haaland out, only for his team-mates to go and score all the goals. Mbappe and Messi are both fantastic players too, but I think Haaland deserves the award most because heâs won the Champions League, the English Premier League, the FA Cup, and scored a huge amount of goals. So, he deserves it for me, though the other two have scored a lot of goals as well. Weâll just have to see,â Courtois told FIFA.com.
The three stars had already been involved in a battle for a prestigious award a few months ago, with Messi ultimately getting the upper hand in the 2023 Ballon dâOr vote. However, itâs safe to say the 2022 World Cup gave the Argentine star the edge on that occasion.
That triumph was also the reason Messi emerged victorious in the last edition of The Best last year. Since the upcoming award will consider the playerâs performances in 2023, Qatar 2022 will no longer be part of the criteria. Only time will tell whether Haaland or Mbappe dethrone Messi this time.
Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Erling Haaland
Courtois mentions all three The Best finalists among toughest players heâs played with and against
Apart from sharing his opinion on the race for The Best award, the Real Madrid goalkeeper made it clear that Haaland, Messi, and Mbappe are among the best players heâs faced â a list that also includes Cristiano Ronaldo.
âIâve been lucky enough to play with lots of great players and I canât name just the one. Playing against Cristiano [Ronaldo], Messi, Haaland, Mbappe⊠There are so many great names you could pick, but itâs not up to me to say. Iâve just been fortunate enough to face some of the greatest names in the game, which is special in itself,â Courtois said.
All the nominees for FIFA The Best Awards 2023
The Best FIFA Menâs finalists
- Erling Haaland
- Lionel Messi
- Kylian Mbappe
The Best FIFA Womenâs finalists
- Aitana Bonmati
- Linda Caicedo
- Jennifer Hermoso
FIFA Puskasâ Award finalists
- Julio Enciso
- Guilherme Madruga
- Nuno Santos
The Best FIFA Menâs Coach finalists
- Pep Guardiola
- Simone Inzaghi
- Luciano Spalletti
The Best FIFA Womenâs Coach finalists
- Jonatan Giraldez
- Emma Hayes
- Sarina Wiegman
The Best FIFA Menâs Goalkeeper finalists
- Yassine Bounou
- Thibaut Courtois
- Ederson
The Best FIFA Womenâs Goalkeeper finalists
- Mackenzie Arnold
- Catalina Coll
- Mary Earps
