Lionel Messi Secures the Prestigious Football Honor, the Ballon d'Or, for the Eighth Time

France Football has announced the recipient of the 2023 Ballon d'Or, and it's none other than Lionel Messi, currently playing for Inter Miami. This marks the eighth Ballon d'Or in the collection of the Argentine football superstar.

Previously, Messi received this prestigious award in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, and 2021. Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, was his main rival for a long time, but this year, Ronaldo was not even nominated. Messi's primary competition this time came from Erling Haaland of Norway, Kylian Mbappé from France, and Kevin De Bruyne from Belgium, who secured the second, third, and fourth places, respectively.

Over the past year, Lionel Messi won the World Cup, was named the best player of the tournament, and continued to display exceptional performance both for PSG and Inter Miami, as well as for the Argentine national team.

"I could never have imagined having such a career, achieving all that I have. I was fortunate to play for the best team in the world, the best team in history. Winning these individual trophies is a pleasure. Winning the Copa America, and then the World Cup, is incredible," Lionel Messi stated at the award ceremony.

The best female football player in the world, as recognized by France Football's poll, was Aitana Bonmati, a midfielder for the Spanish national team and Barcelona. She achieved victories in the UEFA Women's Champions League and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, earning her the title of the best player in both tournaments.

The Ballon d'Or is a prestigious individual award in the world of football, established by France Football in 1956. Until 2007, it was awarded to the best European player, and from 2007 onwards, it has been given to the best player in the world. Until 1995, only Europeans were eligible to receive the award, but after 1995, players from European clubs around the world became eligible, and in 2007, for the first time, candidates from outside of European clubs were included among the 50 nominees.

Every year, France Football releases a preliminary list of 30 candidate footballers, from which sports journalists in UEFA member countries and nations that have participated in the World Cup select the best player based on their performance in the previous season.

Three Ukrainian players have been honored with the Ballon d'Or. In 1975, Oleg Blokhin, in 1986, Igor Belanov (both playing for Dynamo Kyiv at the time of receiving the award), and in 2004, Andriy Shevchenko, who was playing for AC Milan at that time.