And in the end it’s Lionel Messi who wins the Ballon d’Or… This phrase which has accompanied all supporters of the football world for decades has never been more true than this Monday evening. Yet faced with tough competition made up of the French Kylian Mbappé and the Norwegian Erling Haaland, it is indeed the Argentinian Lionel Messi who leaves with the precious sesame of the 2023 Ballon d’Or from the hands of David Beckham, after this news ceremony at the Châtelet theater. An edition which has not finished generating a lot of ink in the world press, as the choice of Lionel Messi was not as unanimous as usual this year.
“Thank you to everyone who voted for me, everyone who made it possible for me to win this award. To my teammates in the selection, the coach and management of the Argentina team. I want to congratulate Haaland, Kylian and everyone else. It was a spectacular year. I see a lot of faces that I want to thank because they all dedicated a lot of time to this success.”, declared Lionel Messi on stage at the Châtelet theater. In any case, despite Erling Haaland’s 56 goals with Manchester City’s quadruple as well as Kylian Mbappé’s 41 goals with PSG and 8 goals in the World Cup – including a hat-trick in the final -, it’s still Lionel Messi who successfully grills all the competition. The Norwegian finished 2nd in the ranking, while the Frenchman had to settle for 3rd position. The Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, for his part, closes this edition with 4th place.
An eighth career coronation
Author of a more than mixed season with Paris Saint-Germain (21 goals, 20 assists in 41 matches played in all competitions), the Pulga nevertheless flooded football with its talent, during the 2022 World Cup, organized in Qatar from November 20 to December 18. During the competition, Lionel Messi scored seven goals and delivered three assists, allowing Argentina to reach the final of the competition to challenge the title holders of the French team. With a double in this legendary meeting (3-3, 4-2 tab), the former FC Barcelona player guided his country to its long-awaited third star.
After his seven previous coronations from 2009 to 2012, in 2015, in 2019 and in 2021, Lionel Messi pockets an eighth France Football Ballon d’Or this Monday evening in his long and legendary career. A historic record that he continues to increase, now distancing his faithful long-time competitor, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, by three trophies. This distinction also takes on a very particular flavor for the native of Rosario since with his transfer to Inter Miami in MLS and now aged 36, it is unlikely that a ninth coronation will join the cabinet. trophies already filled with the Argentinian.
