Following his 2023 Ballon d’Or victory, Lionel Messi received a sophisticated “you deserve it” greeting from his former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Kylian Mbappe.
- With his eighth Golden Ball, Messi is rewarded.
- Defeated Mbappe and Erling Haaland for the individual prize.
- Mbappe shares a congrats on social media.
WHAT HAPPENED? The France international thanked the Argentine for leading his country to a third world championship in Qatar last December after the latter won a record-tying seventh Golden Ball trophy in Paris on Monday night. The question of whether Messi, who scored 52 goals to lead Manchester City to the treble last season, should have taken home the trophy ahead of Mbappe and Erling Haaland has generated a lot of discussion. Mbappe, on the other hand, is convinced that Messi is deserving of winning the most coveted individual award in football and has praised him as such. In an Instagram post, he wrote: “Leo, congratulations on your award. You are deserving.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE: During his victory speech, Messi also gave a prediction for Haaland and Mbappe, saying they will both go on to win the prize in the future.
After winning the Ligue 1 trophy with his club and the World Cup Golden Boot with France, the PSG forward came in third place overall. During the 2022–23 season, he scored 55 goals for both club and country, but he was unable to lead France to a second consecutive world title, which could have lost him his first Ballon d’Or victory.
WHAT NEXT? At the Parc des Princes on Saturday, Mbappe will return to action against Montpellier in Ligue 1.