Lionel Messi has been crowned winner of the 2023 Men’s Ballon d’Or award after a prolific outing for PSG and Argentina.
Messi won the prestigious award for a record 8th time in his career beating the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland, who came third and second on the rankings, respectively.
Despite a seismic transfer move to Inter Miami from PSG, Lionel Messi deservedly won the award after he led Argentina to the 2022 FIFA World Cup victory – a tie-breaking feat that put him ahead of other contenders.
He also won French Super Cup and French Ligue 1 title in the said year, and recorded over 40 goal contributions for PSG before his Inter Miami move.
Kylian Mbappe reached the 2022 World Cup final and also won domesitic club trophies with PSG with an equally brilliant individual record. However, he was pecked down on the Ballon d’Or rankings after the 2022 World Cup final deadlock.
Erling Haaland was also a top contender for the prestigious award after he won a treble with Manchester City and created an instant Premier League impact on his debut season with the Blues but his feat pale into insignificance with Messi’s 2022 World Cup card.
Messi reacts after 8th Ballon d’Or win
Messi was overwhelmed as he got his 8th Ballon d’Or trophy from his employer David Beckham. It is more likely it may be his last touch of the prestigious award in his epic career. Speaking after receiving the award, Messi said;
“I couldn’t imagine having the career that I’ve had. Everything that I’ve achieved. The fortune I’ve had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history. It’s nice to win these individual trophies. To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing.”
Lionel Messi makes Argentina the country with highest Ballon d’Or wins
Lionel Messi’s 8th Ballon d’Or win means Argentina is now top of the list of Ballon d’Or wins by country with Lionel Messi singlehandedly taking the country’s Ballon d’Or tally to eight. France, Germany, Portugal, and Netherlands have produced different players that have taken their Ballon d’Or tally to seven each.
And that is despite players from outside Europe only being eligible to win the award since 1995!
Jude Bellingham wins Kopa Trophy
Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid has been crowned the winner of the 2023 Kopa Trophy after his sensational 2022-2023 campaign for club and country. Bellingham was nominated for the award while plying his trade with Borussia Dortmund due to an exceptional individual brilliance on the field in the Bundesliga.
The 20-year-old has sharpened his tools after the switch from Borussia Dortmund to Real Madrid. He was already declared winner designate before the official announcement as reports emerged he has bagged 90% of the votes to edged out rivals such as Jamaal Musiala of Bayern Munich and Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United.
Bellingham has scored 13 times for Real Madrid in all competitions and is currently leading LaLiga topscorers chart with 10 goals in 10 games.
Vinicius Jr won Socrates Award
Real Madrid and Brazil winger Vinicius Junior won the 2023 Socrates Award. The award honours professional footballers with hands on charity and other humanitarian works.
Vinicius Jr has a training institute in Brazil, Instituto Vini Jr, where Brazilian children are trained and educated on civic virtues and humanist values to promote a more equal society.
Vinicius Jr established the institute in 2021 in response to the challenges of racism in football and other spheres of society – a phenomena he had to battle on countless occasions.
Emiliano Martinez won Yachine Trophy
Emiliano Martinez won the Yachine Trophy – a category of the award honouring the best goalkeeper of the year.
Emiliano Martinez beat the likes of Ederson of Manchester City and Andre Onana of Manchester United to clinch the award. He won the 2022 Word Cup with Argentina, keeping three clean sheets at the tournament. He also helped Aston Villa qualify for Europe in the Premier League. keeping 13 clean sheets for the club last term.
Erling Haaland won Gerd Muller award
Erling Haaland, who finished second on the Ballon d’Or ranking, was crowned the best striker of the year with the Gerd Muller trophy. Gerd Muller trophy honours elite talents in the game with incredible goal-scoring abilities.
Erling Haaland took the Premier League by storm with his prolific goal-scoring form that saw Manchester City dominate the Premier League and Europe.
He helped City won the Premier League and FA Cup and also bring home the clubs first Champions League trophy. Haaland was the first Premier League player to hit a record 52 goals in his debut season and the first Manchester City to record the incredible goal tally.
Introduced in 2021 and named after German legendary striker Herd Muller, Robert Lewandowski won the inaugural edition of the award in 2021 and won it again in 2022.
Erling Haaland has now broke the chain to become the second player to win the award.
Aitana Bonmati wins Best Women’s Player
Barcelona and Spanish players continued their dominance of the Ballon d’Or Femeni as another Barcelona and Spanish footballer, Bonmati Aitana clinched the 2023 edition of the award.
Aitana, 25, had a great footballing year with club and country and was a top favorite to clinch the award.
She won the Spanish top flight and Champions League with Barcelona and added the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup trophy to her kit.
Barcelona and Spanish players have now won the Ballon d’Or Femeni three times since the award was introduced in 2018.
All winners of the 2023 Ballon d’Or
1. Jude Bellingham won the 2023 Kopa Trophy.
2. Vinicius Junior Won the 2023 Socrates Award.
3. Emiliano Martinez won the 2023 Yachine Trophy.
4. Erling Haaland won the 2023 Gerd Muller Award.
5. Manchester City won the 2023 men’s club of the year.
6. Aitana Bonmati won the 2023 Women’s Ballon d’Or.
7. Lionel Messi won the 2023 men’s Ballon d’Or.
