Lionel Messi beats Erling Haaland to lift his 8th Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi wins the award ahead of the Manchester City duo & Kylian Mbappe

Lionel Messi has won his eighth Ballon d'Or after beating Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne for the prestigious individual award. Kylian Mbappe was also in the race for the award.

The Argentine forward reached the biggest milestone of his career by winning the FIFA World Cup 2022 with Argentina. Since that day, he was judged as the clear favourite to win the award.

For the first time in many years, Messi's rival Cristiano Ronaldo failed to match the brilliance of the little magician.

Lionel Messi had a lot of ups and downs in the previous season. He was playing for PSG and the club had a lot of expectations from their forward. Messi failed to win the UEFA Champions League with the club and the French supporters were unhappy with him. This led to Messi's exit from the capital club.

The Argentine took on a new adventure and decided to join MLS club Inter Miami in the summer. Messi led his side to their first-ever title win.

Messi's Argentine teammate and World Cup finals hero Emi Martinez finished 15th in the rankings. The goalkeeper went on to win the 2023 Yachine Trophy.

The Ballon d'Or Feminin 2023 was won by Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati. The 25-year-old led her club to the UEFA Champions League title and her country to the Women's World Cup crown.

Jude Bellingham was awarded with the Kopa Trophy 2023. He was judged as the best U21 player in the world. The youngster earned a move to Real Madrid this season and has been one of the best signings of the summer.

Manchester City won the award for the best club for the second consecutive time. Pep Guardiola and his men won the treble in 2022-23 season.

Lionel Messi is now way ahead of the pile in the list of Ballon d'Or winners. Only Cristiano Ronaldo is near him with five wins. This award makes Messi probably the best player to ever play this sport.