Lionel Messi Wins 2023 Ballon d'Or Award ahead of Erling Haaland
Posted by Ahmed Iyanda | 12 months ago | 1,052 times
Inter Miami player, Lionel Messi has won the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards.
The award, which was presented to the 36-year-old Argentina star, became the second oldest player to ever win the Ballon d'Or, replacing last year's winner Karim Benzema.
Messi, who had previously won the award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021, now has three more Ballon d'Or titles than any other player in soccer history.
Just 10 men have won the Ballon d'Or more than once, while five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player other than Messi to have won it more than three times.
Messi's main rival for the 2023 prize was Erling Haaland, who came second following a vote among 100 journalists, one from each of the top 100 FIFA-ranked nations.
The journalists were asked to base their decision on the players' performances and achievements between August 1 in 2022 and July 31 in 2023.
Messi scored 21 goals in 41 appearances last season as Paris Saint-Germain retained the Ligue 1 title before moving to Inter Miami earlier this year.
Since moving to the U.S., he has scored 11 goals in 14 games for Miami, helping the franchise win its first-ever piece of silverware, the Leagues Cup.
Lionel Messi secured his first six Ballon d'Or awards during his tenure at Barcelona, where he achieved the status of the club's all-time leading goal scorer and appearance record holder. He clinched his seventh Ballon d'Or shortly after joining PSG in 2021, a feat accomplished following his triumph with the Argentine national team in the Copa America.
