Inter Miami's Lionel Messi, Spain's Aitana Bonmati win FIFA's best player award

Lionel Messi took his talents to Miami, and the awards followed.

Messi has been named FIFA's best men's player after moving from Paris Saint-Germain to Inter Miami and leading the David Beckham-owned team to a little-known Leagues Cup title — all while single-handedly elevating soccer's relevance in the United States.

The 36-year-old Argentina star on Monday was selected over Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland — the same pair he beat for his eighth Ballon d'Or award last October.

Moments later, World Cup champion Aitana Bonmati made it a clean sweep of awards. The 25-year-old Spain playmaker was named FIFA's best women's soccer player, building on her Ballon d'Or award last October, which followed a UEFA award in August.

And that was after she led Spain to World Cup glory and Barcelona to the Champions League title. She was named player of the tournament for both competitions.

Bonmati won Monday over Spain teammate Jenni Hermoso and Colombia star Linda Caicedo.

They were FIFA finalists in voting by a global panel of national team coaches and captains, selected journalists, plus fans online. The women's eligibility period covered performances from Aug. 1, 2022 through the World Cup final last August.

Aitana Bonmatí is <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TheBest?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TheBest</a> FIFA Women's Player 2023!