Lionel Messi Wins Ballon d'Or 2023

How many Ballon d'Ors has Lionel Messi won?

Lionel Messi, who plays for Inter Miami CF, just won his eighth Ballon d'Or after winning the 2022 World Cup with Argentina. He's the first Major League Soccer (MLS) player to get this award. MLS is a football league in the USA.

David Beckham gave Messi the award in Paris. Erling Haaland from Manchester City came in second place. No one had won the trophy as many times as Messi even before this. He has also won this award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2021.

What is the Ballon d'Or?

The Ballon d'Or is a prestigious annual football award given by the French magazine France Football. The first award was given in 1956 and was won by Stanley Matthews (a great English football player).

From 2010 to 2015, the award was temporarily combined with the FIFA World Player of the Year. So it was renamed the FIFA Ballon d'Or. This tie-up ended in 2016. Along with the Ballon d'Or, other awards are also presented, like the Ballon d'Or Féminin, also known as the Women's Ballon d'Or (first given in 2018).

What other awards were given?

The other awards given during the Ballon d'Or 2023 award ceremony and their winners are:

• Ballon d’Or Féminin - Aitana Bonmatí
• Kopa Trophy for the best male U-21 - Jude Bellingham
• Yachine (Yashin) Trophy for the best male goalkeeper - Emiliano Martínez
• Gerd Müller Trophy for the highest-scoring male striker - Erling Haaland
• Sócrates Award to acknowledge humanitarian work - Vinicius Junior
• Club of the Year - Manchester City and FC Barcelona Femení

So, which player and team do you support in football? Tell us in the comments.