Robert Lewandowski of Poland has claimed that the recent FIFA World Cup winner Lionel Messi is in pole position to win the 2023 ballon D’or.
Lionel Messi will win an eighth Ballon d’Or next year following Argentina’s victory in the 2022 FIFA World Cup, according to Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski.
Messi guided the Albiceleste to victory in Qatar during his final World Cup campaign, scoring twice in the championship match before his team defeated Kylian Mbappe and France in a shootout.
Messi finally held the gold trophy as the Albiceleste defeated France 4-2 on penalties to win the tournament for the third time in history.
After a 3-3 draw after 120 minutes at the Lusail Stadium, the Paris Saint-Germain forward, Messi scored twice in extra time and also scored in the shootout.
Due to Messi’s outstanding performance at the World Cup, Lewandowski believes Messi has become the favorite for the next Ballon d’Or, even though Messi wasn’t nominated for the 2022 award, which was won by Karim Benzema.
Lewandowski has had a successful start to his professional career in Catalonia, and he acknowledged that Messi’s return to the club would be a fantastic possibility.
According to the most recent reports, Messi is expected to sign a new contract to remain at PSG; nonetheless, a comeback to the Nou Camp would be a storybook finale to his career.
In the months preceding the World Cup, Lionel Messi had also been playing well for PSG, recording 12 goals and 14 assists in 19 games during the 2022–23 campaign.
Because of this, according to Lewandowski, Messi is currently the favorite to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or award over France forward Kylian Mbappe.
After his historic FIFA World Cup victory, Lionel Messi has firmly joined the Ballon d’Or race, but Kylian Mbappe, a PSG colleague, could yet push him for the award.
The Poland international said (via Barca Universal) as quoted by Mundo Deportivo: “Of course. There may be one more player [Mbappe] who competes for the same team, but only one World Cup will determine the winner of the Ballon d’Or this season, and Leo [Messi] is undoubtedly in the lead thanks to his accomplishments, which are extremely important to him.”
The 24-year-old, who is expected to win the Ballon d’Or in the future, was unstoppable for France at the Qatar Cup, scoring eight goals, including a breathtaking hat-trick against Argentina in the finals to take home the Golden Boot ahead of Messi.
Mbappe has scored 19 goals in 20 games for his club this season, helping them win the Ligue 1 title and staking an early claim for yet another domestic Golden Boot.
Next year, the teammates might compete for the Ballon d’Or.
