With FIFA set to announce which superstar will take home The Best Men's Player award for 2022 on Monday night, the winner has reportedly already been leaked.
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Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are in contention to scoop up the men's individual accolade, with each forward having enjoyed stellar form in the previous calendar year.
While Benzema claimed both LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid, Mbappe scored the most goals at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Messi lifted the prestigious international trophy.
According to Argentine journalist Francesc Aguilar, it seems the Argentine is in line to win the award, with FIFA aiming to "remind" Ballon d'Or organisers France Football about their decision to leave Messi out of their 30-man nominees list for their accolade last year.
The 35-year-old was left off the list following a disappointing first season at Paris Saint-Germain, but has enjoyed improved form in this campaign on top of becoming a world champion.
Since its inception in 2016, Messi has won The Best Men's Player award just once, in 2019, while Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed it twice (2016 and 2017), as has Robert Lewandowski (2020 and 2021), with Luka Modric receiving the accolade in 2018.
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The awards ceremony will be held in Paris on Monday night.
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