Leo Messi takes his eighth Ballon d'Or to his rich career

For a record eighth time, Lionel Messi received the "Golden Ball" of "France Football" for the best player in the world. Now he takes it as #1 for the previous season - 2022/23, the highlight of which was Leo's triumph with the national team of Argentina at the World Cup in Qatar. Separately, he scored 20 goals and made 20 assists for Paris Saint-Germain, with whom he reached the French championship. Erling Holland came second, and Kylian Mbappe took third place. Last year's winner Karim Benzema is only 16th.

Messi's previous awards are from 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021. This will almost certainly be the last such honor for one of the greatest in football history as he has already left Europe and is 36 years old. The closest to Messi continues to be his most serious competitor in the last more than ten years - Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five, but there are no indications that he can increase the number either.

100 journalists participate in the voting for the "Golden Ball" - each from one of the 100 leading countries according to the FIFA ranking. The list of 30 nominated names was prepared by "France Football". Each of the 100 journalists names five players, with the first taking 6 points, the second - 4 points, the third - 3 points, the fourth - 2 points and the fifth - 1 point. If two players have equal assets, the one who has earned more first places in the lists of media representatives has priority. The journalists made their vote in question back in August.