Lionel Messi officially became the owner of the 2023 Golden Ball (Ballon d’Or) title when his name was announced by David Beckham at the Awards Ceremony held at Theater du Chatele (Paris, France).
This result is not too surprising because previously there was a lot of information “confirming” that the Argentine superstar would win the award.
In this race, Lionel Messi surpassed two other competitors, Erling Braut Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi had a hugely successful 2022-2023 season in the National Team shirt when he contributed greatly to helping Argentina win the 2022 World Cup.
In Qatar, Messi played brilliantly and scored 7 goals, including a double against France in the final. He is also the first player in World Cup history to score in the group stage, round of 1/8, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals.
In the Paris Saint-Germain shirt, this 1987-born star also scored 21 goals and 20 assists, helping the French team win Ligue 1.
Meanwhile, Silver Ball winner Haaland also had an extremely impressive season – scoring 52 goals – contributing greatly to helping Manchester City win the great “treble” of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Haaland also holds many noble individual titles such as European Golden Shoe, Champions League top scorer, Best Player in Europe, PFA and FWA Player of the Season…
Haaland won so much glory last season, but unfortunately Messi has the World Gold Cup.
Unprecedented record
By being named at the Theater du Chatele, Lionel Messi has won the 8th Golden Ball in his football career.
Previously, La Pulga had stepped onto the podium at this award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.
Messi won the Golden Ball 8 times.
With this achievement, the Argentine superstar has set an “unprecedented” record because it will be very difficult for any player to catch up soon when Messi’s gap with the rest is too large.
Not only that, Messi also became the first in history to win the Golden Ball as a player of three different clubs including Barcelona, PSG and Inter Miami.
“It’s nice to be here again to enjoy this moment,” Lionel Messi shared his feelings on the podium. “Thank you to everyone, especially my teammates. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. This Golden Ball is a great gift for all Argentines.”
“Thank you to everyone, especially my teammates. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. This Golden Ball is a great gift for all Argentines.”
Messi said: “I would also like to thank all my family, my wife and my children, for being with me in the worst times and they helped me realize my dream in football. I want to remind to Diego Maradona one last time. Happy birthday, Diego. I think there is no better place to send my congratulations to you.”
Awards in other categories
The 2023 Women’s Golden Ball title belongs to midfielder Aitana Bonmati after having an extremely successful season with Barcelona and the Spanish Team.
The 25-year-old star joined the Barcelona women’s team to win the “treble” including Liga F, Women’s Champions League and Spanish Super Cup. At the team level, Bonmati joined the Spanish women’s team to win the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Aitana Bonmati on the podium. (Source: AP)
Real Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham won the Best Young Player award, commonly known as the Kopa Trophy.
This result is considered a stepping stone for Jude Bellingham towards the Golden Ball race in the future. Especially this season, the English star is playing impressively for Real Madrid with 13 goals in 13 matches in all competitions.
In the Yashin Award, Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa and the Argentina Team were honored. This award is completely deserved as Martinez played impressively to help Argentina reach the top of the 2022 World Cup.
