“Not doing things fairly” - Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas appears to express disappointment in Lionel Messi winning 2023 FIFA The Best Men’s Player

Iker Casillas recently took to social media platform X after Lionel Messi was named as the 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player.

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper posted:

"You create some nice prizes and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly. “The Smile” more like. Anyway, good night!

Here's the post:

Casillas' post, given the timing of it, seems to be him taking a dig at the award function and FIFA overall for announcing Messi as the winner.

Casillas and Messi have been rivals on the pitch for several years, with the two players engaging in several El Clasicos. It could thus be possible that the former Real Madrid skipper Casillas isn't happy about the fact that Barca legend Messi won the award at the FIFA ceremony.

Messi won the 2023 edition of the award with 48 scoring points. Haaland came second with 48 scoring points as well but lost to Messi, who won more votes from national team captains. Kylian Mbappe came third with 35 scoring points.

Taking a look at the 2022-23 season stats for Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland

Messi had a wonderful 2022-23 campaign. He registered 21 goals and 20 assists in 41 games for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) across competitions, helping them win the Ligue 1 title. He won the Golden Ball at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he helped Argentina win the trophy with seven goals and three assists in seven games.

Haaland, who joined Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund in the summer of 2022, had a wonderful campaign as well. He broke the Premier League record for the most goals in a season and also won the Golden Boot in Europe. Haaland registered 52 goals and nine assists in 53 games for City, helping his team win the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup.