Bundesliga teams come away empty-handed
World champion Messi extends Ballon d’Or record
October 30, 2023, 10:33 p.m
Lionel Messi is once again awarded the Ballon d’Or as the best footballer. It is his eighth trophy since 2009. As world champion, he prevailed against, among others, super striker Erling Haaland. A World Cup winner also wins among women. All Bundesliga teams come away empty-handed.
Lionel Messi stood smiling on stage at the Theater du Chatelet in his black tuxedo. The Argentina world champion captain was awarded the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career and clearly enjoyed the moment. The 36-year-old won the vote in Paris conducted by the trade magazine France Football ahead of the Norwegian goal guarantee Erling Haaland from Champions League winners Manchester City and the Frenchman Kylian Mbappé.
The German professionals were just extras after the World Cup embarrassment. After the triple with Manchester City, İlkay Gündoğan ended up in 14th place, young star Jamal Musiala from German record champions Bayern Munich took 26th place.
Aitana Bonmati previously won the European title.
(Photo: AP)
Other stars were in the spotlight. When he was re-elected, Messi benefited from his crowning career at the World Cup in Qatar last year. With seven goals and three assists, he played the biggest role in Argentina’s third title win after 1978 and 1986. He also scored 16 goals and 16 assists in 32 matches when Paris St. Germain won the championship with Paris St. Germain in the French Ligue 1 before he was retired MLS moved to Inter Miami.
In the women’s category, Spanish world champion Aitana Bonmati from FC Barcelona prevailed at the Theater du Chatelet. She had previously received the European Footballer of the Year award. The 25-year-old succeeds her compatriot Alexia Putellas, who together won the World Cup title with the Spaniards in Australia and the Champions League with FC Barcelona. National team captain Alexandra Popp came seventh, her Wolfsburg teammate Lena Oberdorf came in 13th.
The best young player (under 21 years of age) was ex-Dortmund Jew Bellingham, who also beat his childhood friend Musiala. In the goalkeeper category, the award went to world champion Emiliano Martínez from Argentina. Thanks to 56 goals, Haaland was rewarded with the Gerd Müller Trophy for the best goalscorer for the first time. The best men’s team was Manchester City, the honored women’s team was FC Barcelona. The Brazilian Vinicius Junior from Real Madrid was recognized for his social commitment.
The Ballon d’Or has been awarded annually since 1956 by the trade magazine “France Football”. The winner was initially considered “Europe’s Footballer of the Year”, but since 2007 the world’s best kicker has been chosen in competition with FIFA’s World Footballer’s Choice (since 1991). From 2010 to 2015, the newspaper and the world association cooperated on the world footballer’s freestyle, and since 2016 two different prizes have been awarded.