At his previous club, Paris Saint-Germain, the Argentine superstar had a fine 2022-23 season, but it was his leadership of his home nation to a World Cup triumph last year that probably pushed him past Erling Haaland for this year’s Ballon d’Or. Manchester City’s scoring maven came in second, with Kylian Mbappé, Messi’s former PSG teammate, third and Kevin De Bruyne, another Manchester City standout, fourth.
At the ceremony in Paris for the Ballon d’Or, which is overseen by French magazine France Football, Messi said in Spanish, “It’s nice to be here once more to enjoy this moment, to be able to win the World Cup and achieve my dream.