Kylian Mbappe congratulated Lionel Messi after his Paris Saint-Germain team-mate beat him to the FIFA Best Men’s Player award.
Superstar Messi earned the prestigious individual accolade for the second time in his career, with the announcement made at Monday’s ceremony in Paris.
The award spanned from the start of the 2021-22 season through to the end of the World Cup in Qatar, where Messi captained Argentina to victory over Mbappe’s France in a memorable final in December.
Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists at the tournament to scoop the Golden Ball prize, while Mbappe also had 10 goal involvements and finished as top scorer.
Additionally, Messi scored 11 goals and claimed three assists from 18 games for PSG at the start of this campaign.
Mbappe was second in the voting ahead of Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.
Posting on Instagram after the ceremony, Mbappe wrote: “Another trophy at home. Big congratulations to @leomessi you are #TheBest.”
Messi and Mbappe combined for all three goals as PSG defeated Marseille 3-0 in Ligue 1 last time out. The duo now have 10 goal combinations this season, the most in Europe’s top-five leagues.
PSG, who are eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1, host Nantes next before travelling to Bayern Munich for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie where they are aiming to overturn a 1-0 deficit.