This Monday evening, Lionel Messi won the eighth Ballon d’Or of his career, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. A look back at the Argentinian international’s incredible track record in this area.
“La Pulga” has just won the eighth Ballon d’Or of his career. There was little doubt about this since the Catalan daily Sport had announced two weeks previously that the Argentinian would be the winner of this 67th edition. Lionel Messi is therefore considered the best player of the 2022/2023 season. “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. This World Cup was the title that I was missing”, declared the native of Rosario, who perfectly meets the three criteria for winning the famous award. Let’s take them in order.
The individual performances and the decisive and impressive character of the contenders
Author of seven goals during the World Cup in Qatar, Messi was voted best player of the competition. At club level, with Paris Saint-Germain, the native of Rosario was decisive 41 times in as many matches (21 goals and 20 assists).
Collective performances and results accumulated over the past season
For the very first time in his career, Lionel Messi reached the Holy Grail by winning the World Cup. With the capital club, he won the French championship.
The class of the player and his sense of fair play
The Albiceleste international is a world-class player. His legendary finesse and technique have long been established.
💬 The speech of the 2023 Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi #ballondor pic.twitter.com/HRaNdRwclG
— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 30, 2023
With this eighth Ballon d’Or, Lionel Messi enters football history a little further. In terms of this award, he is now well ahead of his eternal rival. Indeed, Cristiano Ronaldo is now three trophies behind the former FC Barcelona player. A look back in pictures at the crazy story of “La Pulga” with the most important individual distinction in football.
