On Monday, Inter Miami captain Lionel Messi was announced as the winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or, an annual award given to the world’s best soccer player. This is the eighth time that Messi has won the award, more than any other player. It’s a historic achievement that may never be surpassed.
This latest honor is a special one for the 36-year-old Messi, as he’ll receive football’s top individual trophy on the basis of his performance at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Messi led Argentina to their third World Cup title last winter, scoring seven goals and earning the golden ball as the tournament’s best player. The elusive World Cup trophy that Messi had been chasing since 2006 was finally his. And now this latest honor comes on the same day that his former national team manager, the late Diego Armando Maradona, would’ve turned 63, further intertwining the two Argentine legends. Messi dedicated the award to Maradona.
“Wherever you are, happy birthday Diego. This is also for you,” said Messi.
French magazine France Football created the Ballon d’Or award in 1956 to honor the best European player of the year. It wasn’t until 1995 that the magazine first considered players from any nationality who played their club football in Europe. Up until the 2021 ceremony, players were judged based on their performance over a calendar year.
Beginning in 2022, the judges — journalists representing nations from the higher end of FIFA’s rankings — were asked to consider a player’s exploits from the starting on August 1, 2022 and ending July 31, 2023. France Football details the criteria for winning the Ballon d’Or as follows: individual performance, crucial actions and impressive on-field behavior; accolades and a vital role in the team and finally fair play on the pitch.
The change from calendar year to a wide scope of work set the stage for Messi to beat out his chief contenders, namely Manchester City’s Norwegian center forward Erling Haaland. The 23-year-old Haaland is a goal machine, scoring 36 times in 35 Premier League appearances in his debut season for Manchester City, breaking the league’s single-season record. He totaled 52 goals during the 2022-2023 season in all competitions.
More importantly, Manchester City won the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League. Haaland’s rare treble-winning season was remarkable compared to Messi’s final season with Paris Saint Germain. Messi totaled 21 goals and 16 assists during PSG’s Ligue 1 domestic title campaign. The French side crashed out of the Champions League in the round of 16.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, who also coached Messi for four seasons at FC Barcelona, has a unique solution for this type of individual award conundrum.
“I’ve always said that the Ballon d’Or should be in two sections,” Guardiola said recently. “One for Messi and after that look for the other ones. So Haaland should win, yes. We won the treble, and he scored, I don’t know, 50 million goals. But the worst season for Messi is the best for the rest of the players. They both deserve it. (Selfishly), I want Erling (to win) because he helped us to achieve what we achieved. I would love it. But I’m telling him if Leo wins, they won the World Cup.”
Messi celebrates with the FIFA World Cup trophy after Argentina beat France in the final at Lusail Stadium on December 18, 2022. (Photo: David Ramos – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)
It appears that during a World Cup year, that tournament’s trophy carries more weight than the combined prestige of three European titles. Messi, however, isn’t the first player to win the Ballon d’Or based primarily on what he accomplished at the international level. In fact, there have been several winners in the modern era of the award who have leveraged magnificent performances at a World Cup to claim it.
Zinedine Zidane won his only Ballon d’Or in 1998, after leading hosts France to their first World Cup title. Four years later, Brazilian Ronaldo Nazario won his second Ballon d’Or after his eight goals carried Brazil to the 2002 World Cup title. Italian central defender Fabio Cannavaro won the Ballon d’Or in 2006, the same year when he captained Italy to their fourth World Cup trophy.
And in 2018, Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric ended Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s 10-year dominance of the award. Modric, who was 33-years-old at the time, was an improbable winner considering the aforementioned streak. He was instrumental in Real Madrid’s Champions League title and also led Croatia to a runner-up finish at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
There is one thing that hadn’t ever happened, though. No current MLS player had ever won the Ballon d’Or. Several past winners have ended their careers in the United States, but Messi is the first to win the award while actively playing in the league. MLS and Inter Miami were quick to celebrate the fact that they’re the home of the reigning Ballon d’Or winner with an Inter Miami social media post that included the club’s badge turning into the Ballon d’Or trophy.
Felicidades ME♾SI 🏆#LION8LdOr @ballondor pic.twitter.com/cpOiFNiIjD — Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 30, 2023
On Monday in Paris, Miami’s co-owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham walked the red carpet alongside MLS commissioner Don Garber. Beckham was given the honor of presenting the award to Messi, giving Inter Miami full ownership of the moment.
The MLS/Inter Miami delegation at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, including Jorge Mas, David Beckham, Xavier Asensi and Don Garber. (Photo: Marc Piasecki/WireImage)
Together, the MLS entourage was there to savor the chance to see their club’s name and the league forever linked to one of the sport’s most distinguished awards.
Seems an extra passenger made it to our flight @ballondor @InterMiamiCF pic.twitter.com/fVjAK6MTvl
— Jorge Mas (@Jorge__Mas) October 31, 2023
In August, Messi did his best to deflect when asked if he was thinking about winning another Ballon d’Or yet again. It was a bit surreal to listen to Messi talk about the award while wearing Inter Miami gear. But at that moment, it suddenly felt like a real possibility.
“I’ve said this many times in my career: even though it’s a prestigious award, one of the top individual awards, I never gave it much quote-unquote importance,” said Messi. “The most important thing for me has always been team awards. I was lucky to have accomplished everything in my career. After winning the World Cup, which is what I was missing, now I’m really not thinking about the (Ballon d’Or.) … If I win it, great. If not, it’s fine. Now I have new objectives with this club. That’s why we came here. To help the club win titles, and personally for me, to continue to win trophies.”
Messi’s acceptance speech on Monday night didn’t change too much. After a standing ovation, Messi thanked the voters and his Argentina teammates. He acknowledged both Haaland and Kylian Mbappé, saying they’ll soon win their own Ballon d’Or awards.
“This award goes hand-in-hand with what we accomplished with the Argentina national team,” Messi said. He then thanked Beckham and Mas and reiterated how happy he was with his decision to join Inter Miami.
It was a big moment for the MLS side. Thanks to Messi, Inter Miami and MLS were given the best promotion possible at one of global soccer’s biggest events.
Miami est ici 👋 pic.twitter.com/YLYziPuggv
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) October 30, 2023
Whether this gives MLS the legitimacy it has always desired is debatable, but it sets a precedent. The current holder of the Ballon d’Or chose MLS.
Messi came to the league over the summer and immediately played with the same vigor that he showed with Argentina, and most recently, with Paris Saint Germain. His game-winning goals and pinpoint assists for Miami have been viewed around the world. That boosted the MLS brand. And now, America’s young first-division league has its first Ballon d’Or winner. Over time, that milestone will increase in significance.
Messi has given MLS the global visibility that it has never had. Not even David Beckham’s league-shifting arrival in 2007 can compare to the present day sports media landscape that Messi and other global stars inhabit. However, Messi’s presence alone, even with a newly engraved Ballon d’Or, will not suddenly propel MLS to new sporting heights.
At 36, Messi is now the second oldest winner of the Ballon d’Or. English footballer Sir Stanley Matthews was the first-ever recipient of the award in 1956. He was 41-years-old. Today, Messi is still as active as he ever has been — still a key member of the top ranked national team in men’s football and now the face of MLS. He has his detractors, of course, many of which support his rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who now plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. Curiously, Messi’s former coach at PSG, Christopher Galtier, said on Friday that at 38, Ronaldo is “still the best player in the world.”
Messi, however, still commands the same level of respect from his opponents.
Luis Abram is a Peruvian international defender who also plays for MLS side Atlanta United. Abram has been on the receiving end of two of Messi’s most recent standout performances. First during a July 25 Leagues Cup match that Inter Miami won 4-0, with two goals from Messi. And again on October 17, a 2-0 Argentina win over Peru in South America World Cup qualifying. Messi scored both goals that night in Lima.
“We all know the quality of player that Leo is. I don’t have to say it,” said Abram last week. “For me it’s clear that he deserves (the Ballon d’Or) because of what he has done, what he has accomplished, and because of the World Cup. And honestly he’s done very well so far with (Inter) Miami. He deserves it. It would be great for MLS to have one of their players win the Ballon d’Or.”
Like a select few greats before him, Messi has reached godfather status in the world of football — the byproduct of a World Cup win and years of consistently elite play. The question today is whether Messi’s reverence can be any greater than it is now. There isn’t a trophy left for Messi to win that will heighten his glittering career. Whether he deserves his eighth Ballon d’Or or not will matter little to him.
(Top photo: FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)
