Haaland, Mbappé or Messi? IFFHS has announced the best player of 2023

The Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has received another accolade. The Norwegian national team striker has been recognized as the best football player of 2023 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).

In the final voting, the Norwegian secured 208 points, a significant 103-point lead over Kylian Mbappé, who finished second with 105 points. Lionel Messi concluded the top three with 85 points. Also within the top five were Haaland's Manchester City teammates Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, and Bernardo Silva.

Interestingly, this marks not only Haaland's first IFFHS award but also the first for Norway as a whole.

The top 10 players of 2023 according to IFFHS:

1. Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City) - 208 points
2. Kylian Mbappé (France, PSG) - 105
3. Lionel Messi (Argentina, PSG/Inter Miami) - 85
4. Rodri (Spain, Manchester City) - 55
5. Jude Bellingham (England, Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid) - 34
6. Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium, Manchester City) - 27
7. Harry Kane (England, Tottenham/Bayern Munich) - 18
8. Bernardo Silva (Portugal, Manchester City) - 9
9. Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid) - 8
10. Lautaro Martinez (Argentina, Inter Milan) - 7

In the departing year of 2023, Haaland, along with Manchester City, won the UEFA Champions League, the English Premier League, the FA Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Club World Cup. At the end of the previous season, Erling emerged as the top scorer in the English league.

The Norwegian was acclaimed as the paramount player of the 2022/23 season by UEFA and garnered numerous another additional individual accolades. In the Ballon d'Or 2023 voting, the forward secured the second position after Lionel Messi.