Football: Inter Miami CF star Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or for a record eighth time, fending off competition from Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
Messi famously claims eighth Ballon d'Or | 00:42For the past two decades, the battle for the Ballon d’Or – the top individual award in football – has been dominated by two names: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.Messi claimed the trophy for a record-extending eighth timeWith Ronaldo now 38 years old and Messi 36, and with neither playing in Europe, this year is almost certainly the last time either player hoists the most precious and prestigious solo trophy.
Ronaldo has more career goals on both the domestic and international stages, while Messi has more assists in both departments. Ronaldo first won the award in 2008 and Messi in 2009. Since then, only twice has the award gone to a different player – Croatia’s Luka Modric in 2018 and France’s Karim Benzema in 2022.
Messi, meanwhile, has started strongly at Inter Miami after moving from Paris Saint-Germain in July, tallying 11 goals and five assists in 14 appearances across all competitions.Messi speaks after receiving the award in Paris.But Ronaldo is highly unlikely to add to his record 19 nominations for the award, while Messi’s 15th nomination this year is also likely to be his last.
He added four goals for Norway in as many games, but wasn’t able to showcase his skills on the biggest stage after the nation missed out on World Cup qualification for Qatar. Guardiola, who previously coached Messi at Barcelona, added: “Egotistically I would say I want Erling because he helped us to achieve what we achieved. I would love it but I won’t tell you it’s unfair if Leo wins.”
But Haaland recently told France Football – who founded the Ballon d’Or award back in 1956 – that he doesn’t view his relationship with Mbappe like the Messi-Ronaldo duel of the last two decades. But Mbappe and Haaland’s biggest threat to winning the top trophy in 2024 might just be Jude Bellingham.The 20-year-old England star won the Kopa Trophy for the best season by a player under 21, having scored 14 times in 42 games for Borussia Dortmund in his final season in Germany before moving to Real Madrid. He also starred for England in their quarter-finals run at the World Cup in Qatar.