Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or trophy for a record-extending eighth time – and his triumph in Paris put more ground between him and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was absent from the glitzy awards ceremony on Monday night, having not been nominated for the first time since 2003. That means he was not considered to be among the 30 best players in the world during 2023 and was not there to see Messi claim yet another Ballon d’Or.
Ronaldo is now 38 years old and playing in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, having left Manchester United under a cloud in November 2022. Messi, meanwhile, has moved to America, where he plays for Inter Miami in MLS. Both are nearing the end of their illustrious careers, but one is still at the top of his game, at least judged by the Ballon d’Or standards.
Voting for the award is done by 100 journalists from the 100 countries at the top of the FIFA rankings. While Messi now has eight awards, it seems likely that Ronaldo might have to be content with his five – the last of which came back in 2017.
Since his win, which came when he was still at Real Madrid, Messi and his two former Real team-mates Luka Modric and Karim Benzema have won the awards. All of this would have come as quite the surprise to the Ronaldo of September 2019, when he was at Juventus and still brimming with his trademark self confidence.
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“I would love [more], and I think I deserve it,” he told Piers Morgan in an interview on ITV when asked about the Ballon d’Or. “Messi is a fantastic guy, a fantastic player. He's in the history of football – but I think I have to have six or seven or eight to be above him.
“My relationship with him is, we are not friends, but we have shared this stage for 15 years. I have a good relationship with him and I know that he has pushed me to be a better player and I have pushed him to be a better player as well.”
Cristiano Ronaldo was at the Tyson Fury fight in Riyadh on Saturday, but not the Ballon d'Or awards on Monday (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) HAVE YOUR SAY! Has Lionel Messi ended the GOAT debate with his eighth Ballon d'Or win? Comment below.
Ronaldo has not won another Ballon d’Or gong since making those bullish statements. Messi, meanwhile, has won three more to reach eight altogether. His most recent success was a product of his performances in Qatar, where he led Argentina to the World Cup.
Ronaldo’s Portugal were knocked out in the quarter finals and while he has continued to plunder goals for his country and Al-Nassr, it seems unlikely he will be bothering the Ballon d’Or voters again.
Back in 2019, he added: “I'm sure I'm in the history of football for what I have done and what I'm continuing to do, but one of the best players in history. For me, the number one in history, but for some fans, if the number one is another one and I'm second, it doesn't matter. I know I'm in the history of football as one of the greatest ever.”
Messi was typically understated as he addressed the audience at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday. "It's nice to be here once more to enjoy this moment," he said. "To be able to win the World Cup and achieve my dream."
He then added: "I couldn't imagine having the career I've had and everything I've achieved, the fortune I've had to be part of the best team in history. All of them [Ballon d'Or awards] are special for different reasons."
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