Lionel Messi has won the 2023 Ballon d’Or, beating Erling Haaland to the trophy and lifting his record-extending eighth Golden Ball.
The Argentine’s biggest triumph came at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, helping Argentina to lift the title and being named Player of the Tournament, while also scoring seven goals.
It was the Argentine’s first-ever World Cup title, and he dominated the tournament like no other player before, winning five Man of the Match awards, including in the final.
He also won a domestic double in France after lifting Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup. He scored 21 goals and set up 20 more in all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain in 2022/23, before leaving the club to join Inter Miami, whom he led to their first-ever trophy in history
His closest rival was Haaland, who helped Manchester City to win the treble in his debut season at the club, scoring 52 goals and setting up nine more in 53 games. He was recently crowned FIFA Men’s Player of the Year, where he beat Messi to the award.
The third place was reserved for Kylian Mbappe, who won the domestic double alongside Messi at PSG and finished runners-up at the World Cup. He netted 41 times and set up 10 more in 43 games for PSG, while winning the Golden Boot at the World Cup.
Overall, it’s Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or after he lifted the trophy in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021 before.
Other awards:
Women’s Ballon d’Or: Aitana Bonmati
Kopa trophy (best young player): Jude Bellingham
Socratis trophy (best solidarity actions): Vinicius Jr.
Women’s Club of the Year: FC Barcelona
Yacine trophy (best goalkeeper): Emiliano Martinez
Gerd Muller trophy (best goalscorer): Erling Haaland
Men’s Club of the Year: Manchester City
