It was inevitable. And yet, there will be those who question the 67e Men’s Golden Ball, awarded Monday evening in Paris to Lionel Messi. It was his eighth, a record. Three more than the number of women’s Golden Balls awarded since 2018 by the magazine France Footballwhich rewarded the Spanish world champion of FC Barcelona, Aitana Bonmatí.
“It’s a gift to the entire Argentina team for what we have accomplished,” declared, lucidly, the captain of the Albiceleste, 2022 world champion. Lionel Messi had just received the most prestigious individual award of world soccer from the hands of David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami, the club where he now plays. Who would have believed, a few years ago, that an MLS player would one day win the Ballon d’Or?
It was another legend of soccer, MLS and the Montreal Impact, Didier Drogba, who co-hosted this pompous protocol ceremony at the Châtelet theater in Paris, punctuated by discomfort, the secret of which the French seem to know.
The “Pulga” (the flea) dedicated his prize to his idol and compatriot, the late Diego Maradona, whose birthday was Monday (and who never won a Ballon d’or, the prize being at its time reserved for the best European player).
At 36 years old, Lionel Messi has undoubtedly just experienced his last coronation as the best soccer player on the planet. We already believed that he had passed the baton, in his first season with Paris Saint-Germain, in 2021-2022, when he had badly digested his involuntary exile from FC Barcelona.
He regained his splendor last fall, just in time for the World Cup in Qatar. Without quite convincing on his return to Paris in January, he still scored 38 goals, in all competitions, between the months of August 2022 and July 2023, the period of eligibility for the Ballon d’or ballot. , which is determined by a system of points awarded by 100 journalists.
In short, this eighth Ballon d’Or rewards a sensational World Cup… which lasted only one month in a season of ten. But what a month! The Argentina number 10 scored seven goals in Qatar, including two in the final, before being named player of the tournament. This is the only major title within his reach that was missing from his record, after Argentina’s defeat in the final against Germany at the 2014 World Cup.
The Ballon d’Or generally rewards the best player of the year. It also testifies to the importance, perhaps disproportionate, that we give to trophies. And in particular to the holy grail of the World Cup. Talk to the Italian Fabio Cannavaro, winner of the 2006 Ballon d’Or. Or the Argentinian Emiliano Martinez, who won the Lev Yachine trophy for best goalkeeper of the year on Monday, even if Yassine Bounou, Moroccan born in Montreal, was ranked higher than him in the overall Ballon d’or rankings…
After his coronations in 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2019 and 2021 – the year in which he finally won the Copa America with Argentina – Lionel Messi succeeds the Frenchman Karim Benzema while the most dominant player in the ensemble of the last season is undoubtedly the Norwegian of Manchester City, Erling Haaland.
Like the Pole Robert Lewandowski before him, who should have been awarded the Ballon d’Or in 2020 (the award was not awarded due to COVID), Erling Haaland must wonder what he could have done with more to win the award this year.
The 23-year-old striker spearheaded Manchester City’s historic treble (Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League), scoring 36 league goals in his first season in England, a new English record, 12 goals in the Champions League as well as a total of 56 goals in 57 matches in all competitions.
If Messi hadn’t won the World Cup, the Golden Ball was his. Eventually, no doubt, his native Norway will qualify for a Euro or a World Cup (with playmaker Martin Ødegaard in support) and he will not be excluded. Playing for a small soccer nation will always be a thorn in the side of those who aspire to the greatest individual consecration.
Haaland was able to console himself (a little) thanks to the Gerd Müller trophy for top scorer of the year, ahead of Kylian Mbappé (54 goals). In the final Ballon d’Or standings, the Norwegian also edged out the 24-year-old Frenchman, who would certainly have been a very serious contender for the title if France, rather than Argentina, had won the final of the most recent World Cup. world on penalties.
Mbappé, phenomenal, scored three goals in this historic match. His Achilles heel is that he plays for PSG, a team which flew through a second-rate championship, but slipped away in the round of 16 of the Champions League (with Messi in its ranks). Eventually, Mbappé, Haaland or the Englishman Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid sensation who won the Kopa trophy for best young player on Monday, will win a Golden Ball. That too is inevitable.
Lionel Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or in 15 years confirms, for those who still doubted it, that he is the greatest soccer player of all time. It’s a lifetime achievement award: a gold medal at the Olympic Games (in Beijing), four Champions League titles, a Copa America, a World Cup and countless national titles, including the recent Leagues Cup with Inter Miami, during which he shone brightly in a scenario worthy of Hollywood.
Eight times named the best player in the most practiced sport in the world. Will we ever see anyone surpass this mark? Certainly not anytime soon. This Messi is gold. And there won’t be two.