Real Madrid stars Luka Modric and Fede Valverde pick same favourite while voting as Lionel Messi wins 2023 FIFA The Best Men’s player award

Lionel Messi won the 2023 FIFA The Best Men's Player award on Monday, January 15. He beat Erling Haaland (second place) and Kylian Mbappe (third) to win the prestigious award.

With the award ceremony now over, votes of several players have been revealed. Luka Modric and Federico Valverde's votes were revealed by AlbicelesteTalk on X (formerly called Twitter).

Here is how it looks:

Luka Modric's votes:

1. Lionel Messi
2. Rodri
3. Marcelo Brozovic

Federico Valverde's votes:

1. Lionel Messi
2. Kylian Mbappe
3. Erling Haaland

Here's the post:

Messi finished with 48 scoring points, tied with Haaland. The Inter Miami forward won the award courtesy of earning more votes from national team captains, with Modric being one of them. Mbappe finished third with 35 scoring points.

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How did Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland fare in the 2022-23 season?

Mbappe registered 41 goals and 10 assists in 43 games for Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022-23 season. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Mbappe registered eight goals and two assists in seven games for France, who lost the final against Messi's Argentina on penalties (3-3, 4-2 on pens).

Coming to Messi, he registered seven goals and three assists in seven games for Argentina in that World Cup, helping them lift the trophy as captain. Messi also scored 21 goals and added 20 assists for PSG across competitions in 41 games that season.

Haaland, meanwhile, won the treble in his debut season with Manchester City - emerging victorious in the UEFA Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. The Norwegian striker netted 52 goals and added nine assists in 53 games across competitions for City in the 2022-23 season.

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Luka Modric and Federico Valverde's Real Madrid win Supercopa de Espana by beating Barcelona

Los Blancos beat Barcelona 4-1 on Sunday, January 14, in Riyadh to lift the Supercopa de Espana. Vinicius Jr. scored a first-half hat-trick, while Rodrygo added a fourth in the second half. Robert Lewandowski scored a brilliant low volley, but Barcelona failed to make any impact in the game.

Real Madrid are having a brilliant season overall. They had a 100% win rate in the UEFA Champions League group stage and are second in La Liga, one point behind leaders Girona but with a game in hand.