Lionel Messi, the renowned footballer, has won his eighth Ballon d’Or, marking a new milestone in his illustrious career. The former Barcelona player, who led Argentina to victory in the World Cup in Qatar, scoring seven goals and earning the title of the tournament’s best player, surpassed Erling Haaland from Manchester City and Kylian Mbappe from PSG to clinch the award.
The ceremony, held on Monday, October 30, took place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. During his acceptance speech, Messi expressed gratitude to his Argentina teammates and congratulated the other nominees.
The Ballon d’Or, a prestigious award in the football world, has been mainly dominated in the last 15 years by Messi and his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who have won it 12 times combined. Only two other players have managed to win the Ballon d’Or since Ronaldo claimed his first award in 2008, with Luka Modric winning it in 2018 and Karim Benzema being crowned last year after a brilliant season with Real Madrid.