Former Super Eagles captain Mikel Obi has insisted that Lionel Messi deserved to win the 2023 FIFA Best Player of the Year award contrary to the opinion of most critics.

Naija News has reported that Lionel Messi was crowned the winner of the 2023 FIFA Best Player of the Year award ahead of Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland who was expected to win it.

Messi was able to take the trophy after assisting PSG to win Ligue 1 title and Inter Miami to win the Leagues Cup, within the assessment period, December 19, 2022, to August 20, 2023.

During the same period, Norwegian striker, Erling Haaland helped Manchester City to win the treble – Champions League, FA Cup, and the Premier League in his debut season at the club.

Hence, Messi’s triumph came as a surprise, especially because of his incredible season in which he won the FA Cup, the Premier League, the Champions League, and the European Golden Boot with a record-breaking 36 league goals.

Messi has now joined Luka Modric, Robert Lewandowski, and Cristiano Ronaldo as the fourth footballer to win the award three times.

In his assessment of Lionel Messi’s win over Haaland, Mikel Obi told Sky Sports that the 36-year-old Argentine forward deserves it.

The former Chelsea midfielder said, “I think he did. We’ve complained that he hasn’t won the World Cup with Argentina. That was the only question. He hadn’t won it for Argentina. Then, he won the Copa America. The same year, he won the Copa America and the World Cup. Come on.”

Obi added: “I understand that Haaland is a great player. He plays for Manchester City, a team that creates chances and wins games. They’ve lost only one in nine or 10 games. They create chances, score goals, and know how to win games without Haaland.”

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