Paris (AFP) – Argentine Lionel Messi established his legend by winning the Golden Ball for Best Player, the most famous individual award in world football and given annually by the French magazine France Football, for the eighth time in his career, leaving him at the top of the list of most winners, three titles behind. His rival, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, was originally absent from the list of thirty candidates.
Published on: 10/30/2023 – 23:01 Last updated: 10/30/2023 – 22:59
6 minutes
Messi was crowned with this award, which was won last year by Frenchman Karim Benzema, but the current Saudi Al-Ittihad club striker was satisfied in the current edition with sixteenth place, after he finally succeeded in leading his country to win the World Cup at the end of 2022 in Qatar.
Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the prestigious award over the past 16 years, winning it 13 times between them.
Only two players have broken their control since Ronaldo won his first award in 2008, as Croatian Luka Modric won it in 2018 and Benzema last year after a wonderful season with Spanish Real Madrid.
After leaving his mark in the last World Cup by scoring seven goals, including a brace in the final match against France, with three assists and the World Cup Best Player Award, in addition to the French League Champion title with Paris Saint-Germain, “The Flea” was a candidate to win the award despite his departure to… American Inter Miami, benefiting from the recent amendment to its award, which now depends on the player’s record during the last season, and not throughout the calendar year.
His victory in the World Cup was the best in his amazing career, and this gave him superiority over his competitors, the Norwegian star of Manchester City, Erling Haaland, the runner-up of the Qatar World Cup, and his top scorer, the French star of Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe, who came successively behind him in voting for the award.
Monday’s coronation may be the last for Messi, who is currently playing in a much less competitive tournament, and thus will pave the way for young people to compete for it, especially Mbappe (24 years old) and Haaland (23 years old).
Mbappe finished third behind Messi after the Saint-Germain striker finished the last World Cup with the best scorer award with eight goals, including a hat-trick in the final. However, he failed, along with Messi and Brazilian Neymar, to lead Saint-Germain to the top of the old continent and win the Champions League title.
The prestigious continental competition was for Haaland in his first season with his team, Manchester City, which won the historic treble last season.
The Norwegian international was named the best player in Europe last August, after he finished his season as the top scorer in the English Premier League (36 goals in 35 matches) and the Champions League (12 goals in 11 matches).
Messi’s season at club level with Saint-Germain was disappointing, despite him winning the league title alongside Mbappe and Neymar.
Ponmati is best for ladies
For women, Spain’s Aitana Bonmatti won the award after the role she played in leading the Spanish national team to win the World Cup for the first time in its history.
The 25-year-old, who won the UEFA Award for Best Player in Europe last month, also played a role in leading her Barcelona team to win the Champions League and local league titles, which made her the most fortunate to succeed her colleague in the Catalan club and national team, Alexia Botias, who won the Golden Ball in two years. The last two.
In the race for the prestigious award, Bonmatti was ahead of Australian star Sam Kerr (Chelsea), her Catalan club teammates Salma Barawelo, Swedish Fridolina Rulfo, and England goalkeeper Mary Earps (Manchester United).
The Yashin Award for Best Goalkeeper went to Argentine Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, England) after the role he played in leading his country to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, especially in the final, when he blocked an attempt by Frenchman Randall Colo-Mwani in the last seconds of the second extra period, before Ibn 31 years in the penalty shootout, Kingsley Coman’s attempt to give his country its first title since 1986 and the third in its history.
Argentine and Aston Villa English goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez (left) next to his father Alberto after receiving the Best Goalkeeper Award during the Ballon d’Or Awards ceremony. Paris, October 30, 2023 © Frank Fife/AP
The Argentine took precedence over Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson (Manchester City, England) and Moroccan Yassine Bono (Seville, Spain, and currently Al-Hilal, Saudi Arabia), who played a major role in making the “Atlas Lions” the first African and Arab team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Englishman Jude Bellingham, who is brilliant with his new Spanish team, Real Madrid, won the best young player under the age of 21, after the wonderful performance he presented with his former German team, Borussia Dortmund, and his contribution in leading England to the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The Englishman, who scored 13 goals in 13 matches he played in the colors of Real Madrid, the last of which was a double in which he led the Royal Club to victory over its rival Barcelona 2-1 in the Spanish League, was among the 30 candidates for the Golden Ball Award for Best Player and came in eighteenth place.
After winning the league, the local cup and the Champions League, it was obvious that Manchester City would win the title of best men’s team for the second time in a row, while the best women’s team went to Barcelona, Spain.
Haaland won the Gerd Muller Award for best scorer after scoring 56 goals in 57 matches last season, including 52 in 53 matches with Manchester City (12 in 11 matches in the Champions League and 36 in 35 in the Premier League).
© 2023 AFP
2023-10-30 22:01:04
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