Lionel Messi deserves to win his eighth Ballon d’Or and is the best player in football history, according to former teammate Kylian Mbappe.
“I have no problem with the 2023 Ballon d’Or award,” Mbappe said on November 17. “Messi deserves the title. When Messi wins the World Cup, he has to win the Ballon d’Or. He is one of the best players in history, if not the best.”
Mbappe also stressed that he and Erling Haaland both had great seasons. However, when placed next to the World Cup championship, that doesn’t mean much. Ever since losing the World Cup final on December 18 last year, Mbappe knew he would lose to Messi in the race for the Golden Ball.
Messi lifts the Golden Ball at the award ceremony in Paris, France on October 30. Photo: Reuters
On October 30, Messi won the Ballon d’Or with 462 points. Meanwhile, the player who won the treble in the 2022-2023 season with Man City, Erling Haaland, finished second with 357 points. Mbappe ranked third with 270 points.
On December 18, 2022, in the World Cup final, Messi’s Argentina defeated Mbappe’s France 4-2 in a penalty shootout. The 24-year-old French striker scored a hat-trick, but could not stop his PSG teammate from winning the title. Messi ended the tournament with his second World Cup Golden Ball. Meanwhile, Mbappe was crowned top scorer with eight goals, one more than Messi .
The contract between PSG and Mbappe only expires in June 2024. The two sides have not renewed, which could cause PSG to lose him for free after more than half a year. When asked about this issue, Mbappe replied: “This is not news related to the French team. If you ask this question, you have to come to the PSG campus and I will answer you. The country comes first. When I am serving the country, I do not care about that.”
On November 18, Mbappe will play Gibraltar with France. Three days later, they will travel to Greece. Since France has already qualified for Euro 2024, these two matches are just a formality.
Mbappe shoots during a training session with the French team on November 17. Photo: fff.fr
Euro 2024 will be coach Didier Deschamps’ fifth major tournament with France, after Euro 2016, World Cup 2018, Euro 2021 and World Cup 2022. Under Deschamps’ guidance, Mbappe won the 2018 World Cup, reached the round of 16 of Euro 2021 and the final of the 2022 World Cup.
At PSG, Mbappe is working with the coach who won the 2014-2015 treble with Barca, Luis Enrique. After the first stage of the 2023-2024 season, PSG is leading Ligue 1 and ranked second in the “death” group of the Champions League.
Asked to compare Deschamps and Enrique, Mbappe replied: “In the national team, the coach adapts to each opponent, and gives me complete freedom on the left. That means I am a completely different player and allows me to expand my range of activities. I can still improve. Meanwhile, Luis Enrique allows me to participate in more tactical structures. I adapt to both great coaches I have and I like to listen to them.”
