After the results leaked, sources claim that Argentina legend Lionel Messi will defeat Erling Haaland to win his eighth Ballon d’Or trophy later this month.
The 36-year-old, who is now playing for David Beckham’s Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer, led his country to its third World Cup triumph in Qatar in 2022 while also continuing to rule club football in Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain and now in America.
The ceremony will be held in Paris, the city Messi left on a free transfer during the summer, on October 30, with Spanish outlet SPORT claiming the results for both the mens and women’s awards have already been leaked.
The report states that both Messi and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who helped Spain secure the Women’s World Cup against England back in August, will be handed the awards at the Chatelet Theatre
If the leaks are to be believed, it will be Messi’s eighth time securing the trophy and the first time a player has been awarded the accolade while playing outside of Europe.
The former Barcelona man will have beaten away tough competition from Manchester City star Erling Haaland, who spearheaded Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning season with 52 goals across all competitions, as well as his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final that Messi ultimately prevailed in.
Recently, when discussing the individual award, Messi explained how he has always placed more importance on winning trophies for the teams he represents than on receiving individual recognition. “I have said it many times, the Ballon d’Or is very important due to the recognition at the individual level, but I never gave it importance,” Messi told The Mirror.
“Awards at the group level were always the most significant thing to me. I consider myself fortunate to have accomplished everything in my career, and after the World Cup, I think less about that award—it was my highest honor.
