Ballon d’Or: Messi Clinches His 8th Title, Mbappé… Beaten by Haaland
In a predictable outcome, Lionel Messi secured his 8th Ballon d’Or, outperforming Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé. The PSG player ended up in the third position…
Lionel Messi, at the age of 36 years, 4 months, and 6 days, is now the second oldest recipient of the Ballon d’Or, a testament to his exceptional longevity and consistent performance at the highest level of football.
The record set by Stanley Matthews, who won the Ballon d’Or at the age of 41 years, 10 months, and 17 days in 1956 during the inaugural edition, remains a remarkable and hard-to-match milestone. It appears that this record will remain unmatched for a long time, if not forever, underscoring the uniqueness of Matthews’ career.
Lionel Messi has already etched an indelible mark in football history, and this latest Ballon d’Or at an advanced age further solidifies his position as one of the greatest players of all time. Even if it didn’t end well with PSG…
Final Ballon d’Or 2023 Rankings:
- Lionel Messi (Paris SG then Inter Miami / Argentina)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City / Norway)
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris SG / France)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City / Belgium)
- Rodri (Manchester City / Spain)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid / Brazil)
- Julian Alvarez (Manchester City / Argentina)
- Victor Osimhen (Naples / Nigeria)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City / Portugal)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid / Croatia)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool / Egypt)
- Robert Lewandowski (FC Barcelona / Poland)
- Yassine Bounou (FC Sevilla then Al Hilal / Morocco)
- Ilkay Gündogan (Manchester City then FC Barcelona / Germany)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa / Argentina)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid then Al Ittihad / France)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Naples / Georgia)
- Jude Bellingham (Dortmund then Real Madrid / England)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham then Bayern Munich / England)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter / Argentina)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid / France)
- Kim Min-jae (Naples then Bayern Munich / South Korea)
- André Onana (Inter then Manchester United / Cameroon)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal / England)
- Josko Gvardiol (Leipzig then Manchester City / Croatia)
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich / Germany)
- Nicolo Barella (Inter / Italy)
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal / Norway)
- Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt then Paris SG / France)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City / Portugal)
Complete list of the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards:
Men’s Ballon d’Or: Lionel Messi
Women’s Ballon d’Or: Aitana Bonmati
Kopa Trophy (Best Young Player): Jude Bellingham
Yachine Trophy (Best Goalkeeper): Emiliano Martinez
Socrates Trophy (Social Commitment): Vinicius Jr
Gerd Müller Trophy (Top Scorer): Erling Haaland
Men’s Best Club of the Season: Manchester City
Women’s Best Club of the Season: FC Barcelona