Messi wins eighth Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi won the eighth Ballon d’Or at a glittering ceremony held in Paris on Monday.

While Spain’s World Cup-winning star Aitana Bonmati took the women’s prize.

The Ballon d’Or, the most prestigious individual soccer award of the year, rewards the best player over a 12-month period.

Messi, 36, was awarded the prize for the eighth time, and the first time since he signed with Inter Miami of Major League Soccer in July.

Messi won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009 and claimed four in a row until 2012, but finished second to Haaland at the UEFA awards in August.

Messi, who last won the award in 2021, played a pivotal role in guiding Argentina to their first World Cup title in 36 years when they beat defending champions France in the final last year.

Lionel Messi has broken four records as well:

• Oldest player to win the Ballon d’Or.
• The first player outside of Europe to win the Ballon d’Or.
• First player to win the Ballon d’Or with 3 clubs.
• First to ever win 8 Ballon d’Or.

“This is a gift to the whole Argentina team for what we achieved,” said Messi on stage after receiving his award from David Beckham, the co-owner of Inter Miami. Messi dedicated the trophy to late Argentina legend Diego Maradona, who would have celebrated his 63rd birthday on Monday.

“Happy birthday Diego. This is for you too,” he said. Messi benefits from a recent change which means the award is based on a player’s record over the last season, rather than over the calendar year. He won despite an underwhelming final season at PSG, even if he was a Ligue 1 title winner.

 

Messi is now three Ballons d’Or clear of rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the last of his five trophies in 2017. Messi has now finished among the top three a record 14 times in total, finishing runner-up on five occasions.

Barcelona midfielder and the World Cup-winning Spanish national team Aitana Bonmati won the women’s award for the first time.

“It’s an individual trophy but it can’t exist without a team,” Aitana Bonmati told reporters.