Lionel Messi wins a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or, beating Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe

The World Cup winning captain is the first player to win a Ballon d’Or in three different decades.

It’s Lionel Messi’s world and we are just living in it! Manchester City fans may find some resistance with the plethora of goals that Erling Haaland netted but the moment Messi lifted the World Cup in Qatar, any and all arguments over who should win the Ballon d’Or 2023 ceased to exist.

The FIFA World Cup - by far, the pinnacle of the sport - had been the only major silverware missing in Messi’s glittering trophy cabinet and the only point his detractors used to deny him the claim of the greatest of all time. Nahuel Molina’s final kick of the ball from the penalty spot in the final - where Messi scored twice - to end Argentina’s 36-year wait for the World Cup provided the national team captain with the crowning moment of his career at 35. Of course, he was also the best player during the entire competition, rightfully winning his second World Cup golden ball.

Therefore, it came as no surprise then, that on the back of his legacy-defining accomplishment in Qatar just over 10 months ago, Messi also won his eighth Ballon d’Or after a dazzling ceremony at the Theatre du Chatalet in Paris. Messi, who now plays for Inter Miami, has become the first Major League Soccer player to win the award even though his credentials were cemented with performances for the Argentine national team and Paris Saint-Germain in France.

Former Manchester United player and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham handed Messi the big prize and no other player in history has won more than five Ballon d’Ors.

For this year’s Ballon d’Or, the 36-year-old beat off competition from prolific Man City striker Erling Haaland, who won the Gerd Muller Trophy for scoring 52 goals in City’s treble-winning season and finished second in the rankings.
"I couldn't imagine having the career that I've had. Everything that I've achieved," Messi said after getting his award. "The fortune I've had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history. It's nice to win these individual trophies.

"To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing. All of them [Ballon d'Or awards] are special for different reasons."

 "Hats off to Kylian [Mbappe], Erling, Kevin, You guys are very young, you've achieved so much already, so plenty of time left."

Messi had won the Ballon d’Or for the first time in 2009. He then won it again in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2021. He scored 21 goals in 41 appearances last season as PSG retained their Ligue 1 title and scored seven goals at the World Cup in Qatar.

At 36 years and four months old, he also becomes the second oldest player to ever win the Ballon d'Or, replacing last year's winner Karim Benzema. Only the inaugural winner, Stanley Matthews in 1956, was older when he won it aged 41.

Messi has also won the Ballon d’Or with three different clubs. His first six came while he was playing for Barcelona and he won the seventh one shortly after joining PSG and having won the Copa America. His eighth and potentially final one was with Inter Miami.

Meanwhile, Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d’Or Feminin after yet another sensational season with club and country. She won the league and Champions League with Barcelona last season before winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup with Spain this summer.

Messi’s Argentina teammate Emiliano Martinez also won the Yashin Trophy for being the best goalkeeper while Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham who scored twice in the recent El Clasico was handed the Kopa Trophy as the world's top player under the age of 21.