In a heart warming gesture, Lionel Messi has now presented his 8th Ballon d’Or to the Barcelona museum just four months after defeating Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to win it. Following his 21 goals and 20 assists for Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022–2023 season, he received recognition for yet another outstanding year for both the team and the nation.
To win the trophy in Paris, Messi finished ahead of Erling Haaland, the runner-up, and Mbappe, the third place finisher. In January, he was also named the FIFA Best player for the second year in a row; however, Messi was not present at the ceremony, so it is unclear where the trophy is being displayed.
Spanish journalist Miquel Blazquez has reported that the Inter Miami captain has decided to donate his eighth Ballon d’Or title to the museum in Barcelona. While he was a player for David Beckham’s soccer team Inter Miami in MLS when he received the award, he nevertheless decided to hand over the award to the Barca museum.
In order to make sure it goes with the other six trophies he earned while playing for Barcelona (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019), as well as the one he earned with PSG (2021), Lionel Messi made the gesture. He has done something similar before. When he was awarded his seventh Ballon d’Or at PSG, he gestured similarly. Notably, he even made PSG history by becoming the first player to win the Golden Ball.
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