"Prizes will end up being worthless" - Pundit believes Man City star deserved to win 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player award ahead of Lionel Messi

Football pundit Jan Aage Fjortoft has questioned the legitimacy and importance of individual awards after Lionel Messi won the 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player award.

Fjortoft instead believes Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland deserved the accolade more as he helped his side win the treble last season.

Despite the monumental achievement, Haaland finished runner-up to Messi which did not go down well with the pundit. He has opined that there has to be some drastic measures for awards to hold meaning in the future.

Jan Aage Fjortoft tweeted the following after Lionel Messi won his third FIFA The Best Men's Player award:

"How can @ErlingHaaland NOT be the best player in 2023? If awards like this want to have credibility amongst players they need to stop this….the prizes will end up being worthless."

According to FIFA, the shortlisted players were nominated based on their achievements from December 19, 2022 to August 20, 2023. Erling Haaland did win the treble in this time frame but Messi also had a successful time with both club and country.

Lionel Messi guided Argentina to their third FIFA World Cup title in Qatar, beating France in the final following a penalty shootout. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner himself netted a brace in the final.

As far as his club form is concerned, Messi helped Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) win the Ligue 1 title before joining Inter Miami who he helped win the 2023 Leagues Cup.

It is worth mentioning that both Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi secured 48 points during the voting for the 2023 FIFA The Best award. Messi, however, still managed to win the award as he had received more votes from national team captains than Haaland.

Messi also beat Haaland to the Ballon d'Or back in October 2023. The Norway international, however, did win the 2023 IFFHS World's Best Player.

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Lionel Messi and Inter Miami return to action on Friday as they kickstart their pre-season tour

Lionel Messi will finally return to club football with Inter Miami when they take on the El Salvador national side in a friendly match on Friday, January 19. The game is the first of seven matches Inter Miami will play before the start their 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.

The Florida-based side are also scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia to take on Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr in the Riyadh Cup later this month. Messi will therefore face his long-term rival Cristiano Ronaldo on February 1.

The 2024 season will be Messi's first full season in the United States. Inter Miami's first competitive game is against Real Salt Lake in the MLS on February 21.