Messi makes great history with 8th 'Golden Ball' award

At 4:30 a.m. on October 31, Vietnam time, David Beckham (president of Inter Miami Club, former striker of Manchester United, Real Madrid, PSG and England team) announced and awarded the Golden Ball to famous player Messi.

The 67th annual Ballon d'Or award ceremony was held by France Football magazine. The prestigious award has been dominated for the past 15 years by Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, who have won a total of 12 times (Messi 7 times, Ronaldo 5 times). Only 2 other players have won the "Ballon d'Or" since Ronaldo won in 2008, Luka Modric in 2018 and Karim Benzema last year.

Previously, Messi won the "Golden Ball" award in 2019, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.

Messi had a resoundingly successful 2022-2023 season in the national team jersey as the "locomotive" leading Argentina to the 2022 World Cup championship. The superstar born in 1987 scored 7 goals, including a double against France in the final, along with goals and assists against Croatia (semi-finals), the Netherlands (quarter-finals), Australia (round of 16)... to bring Argentina to the top of the world . In the PSG jersey, Messi scored 21 goals, had 20 assists, helping the French team win Ligue 1. In the 2023-2024 season, Messi moved to Inter Miami to play. He became the first player to win the Golden Ball for a team outside of Europe, as well as bringing the total number of Golden Balls won in his career to 8, nearly double the second place (Cristiano Ronaldo, 5 Golden Balls).

Messi làm nên lịch sử với lần thứ 8 đoạt giải 'Quả bóng vàng' - Ảnh 1. — Messi made a great contribution to help Argentina win the 2022 World Cup

Messi will benefit from a recent change that means the award is now based on a player's performance in the previous season, rather than the calendar year. Last season saw the former Barcelona star help Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar, scoring seven goals, assisting three and being named the tournament's best player. It was the pinnacle of his illustrious career and it puts Messi ahead of the 30 nominees.

Most notably, seven members of the Man City team won the historic treble last season (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League) under coach Pep Guardiola. The brightest candidate for the 'Golden Ball' among the Man City stars is Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals in 53 games and won the UEFA 'Player of the Year' award last season.

Messi làm nên lịch sử với lần thứ 8 đoạt giải 'Quả bóng vàng' - Ảnh 2. — Messi sets record for winning 'Golden Ball' award

Messi's club season with PSG was underwhelming, even as he and the French capital club won Ligue 1 alongside team-mates Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. He scored 21 goals and provided 20 assists in 41 games in all competitions for PSG. But the 34-year-old was happy in Paris and even jeered by his own fans at times, before moving to Major League Soccer's Inter Miami earlier this year.

Last season, Mbappe was PSG's best player. The 24-year-old French striker scored 41 goals, winning the "Top Scorer" award at the 2022 World Cup with 8 goals after a hat-trick in the final defeat to Argentina by Messi.

French lobbyists are strongly favouring Mpbappe, who will win the Ballon d'Or this year, which is awarded in his homeland. However, the award is voted for by a jury of journalists from the top 100 countries in the FIFA rankings.

Messi làm nên lịch sử với lần thứ 8 đoạt giải 'Quả bóng vàng' - Ảnh 3. — Mbappe was previously considered a strong candidate for the "Golden Ball" award held in his homeland.

Who won the women's golden ball?

The destination of the women’s tournament seems even clearer. The nominees include four members of the Spanish team that won the Women’s World Cup in Sydney in August despite off-field turmoil, including protests against the country’s Football Association and coach Jorge Vilda.

Alba Redondo, Salma Paralluelo and full-back Olga Carmona, who scored the winning goal in the Women's World Cup final, were all shortlisted. But Barcelona's Bonmati was the winner. The 25-year-old Barcelona midfielder lit up the tournament with her talent and helped the club win the Champions League. The player for reigning World Cup winners Spain deservedly won the Women's Ballon d'Or. Bonmati played a key role as Barcelona won La Liga and the 2022-23 Women's Champions League, and was later named the Best Player of the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Silver Ball for Women: Sam Kerr (Chelsea and Australia). Bronze Ball for Women: Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona and Spain).

Other awards presented at the event:

Best Men's Football Club of the Year : Man City. This is a worthy reward for a perfect year for coach Pep Guardiola and his team when they won the Premier League, FA Cup and stepped onto the podium of glory for the first time in the Champions League after defeating Inter Milan in the final.

Best Goal Scorer of the Year (Gerd Muller Trophy) : Erling Haaland. The Norwegian striker scored 52 goals in 53 matches, winning the treble (Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League) in Man City's shirt.

The players who ranked next in this category were Kylian Mbappe (2nd), Harry Kane (3rd), Lionel Messi (4th) and Robert Lewandowski (5th).

Best Goalkeeper of the Year (Lev Yashin Trophy) : Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Martinez's most impressive achievement in the 2022-2023 season was winning the 2022 World Cup with the Argentina team.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and his father on the podium. When Martinez stepped up to receive the award, he received some backlash from the crowd below. However, the host and former striker Didier Drogba asked everyone in the audience to show Martinez the necessary respect.

Women's Team of the Year : FC Barcelona

Socrates Award (honoring players with social contributions): Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid).

Young Player of the Year (U.21) : Jude Bellingham.

Jude Bellingham's statement on receiving the Kopa Trophy (award for the best young player): "I want to thank everyone who has supported my journey from Birmingham, Dortmund to Real Madrid. Most of all, I want to express that gratitude to my family. Life at Real Madrid has been truly wonderful. They have helped me a lot so that I can develop my full potential. Receiving this award is an honor for me, but my biggest desire is still to conquer titles for Real Madrid and the England team."