Messi honours Maradona with his 8th Ballon d’Or
Lionel Messi, the greatest footballer of all time, won his 8th Ballon d’Or this Monday at the Theatre du Chatelet, in Paris. To make it even more special, he won it on what would have been Diego Maradona’s 63rd birthday.
“The Ballon d’Or should be two sections, one for Messi and one for the other players,” Pep Guardiola said when asked who should win it between Erling Haaland and Messi.
The only players that statistically had more goal contributions than Messi this season were Haaland, Mohamed Salah and Kylian Mbappé.
Erling Haaland, who came in second, competes in terms of statistics, with 52 goals and 9 assists in 53 games. Winning the treble in his first season as a Manchester City player, the Norwegian scored 12 goals in 11 Champions League matches and broke the league’s scoring record in his first season in the Premier League.
Messi’s 32 goals and 25 assists in 55 matches played are outweighed by PSG’s Champions League early exit against FC Bayern. Nevertheless, there was no comparison between the two men in terms of individual performance.
The World Cup is the most important tournament in football, it’s played every four years, so it holds more weight than any other competition. Every game is a relentless battle, where nothing is guaranteed.
“He’s a gift from the footballing gods. So pleased that he’s lifted the ultimate prize in our sport”, Gary Lineker said after Argentina won the World Cup.
In Qatar, Messi scored 7 goals in 7 games, becoming the first player in World Cup history to score in the group stage, last 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final, while picking up 5 Player of the Match awards. He also finished the tournament with the joint-highest number of assists (3), key passes (21), and recorded more shots on target than any other player (13).
He obviously won the World Cup Golden Ball for the best player in the competition, as he already did in 2014, after losing the final to Germany (0-1).
“If you tell me the worst Messi season? That’s the best for the rest of the players”, Guardiola added.
The Ballon d’Or should always go to the best player on the planet, the one who showed up in the biggest matches and made the best out of his opportunities, and right now, it’s still Lionel Messi.
The Argentinian magician completed football like it was a videogame. In doing so, he secured his eighth Ballon d’Or.
La Pulga’s early seasons are overshadowed by his best ones. His first hat-trick was versus no other than Real Madrid, in March 2007, at just 19 years of age. That same year, he scored the famous goal against Getafe, dribbling past every one, including the keeper, to score one of his most memorable goals. The next summer, in 2008, he went to the Olympics in Beijing and won a gold medal with Argentina.
Then, Guardiola’s era at Barça started, and Messi became the best player in the world very quickly. Winning a treble with 57 goal contributions in 51 games at just 21 years old, he won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009.
After that, the accolades just kept coming. Four Ballon d’Ors in a row with just 25 years old. Ninety-one goals in a calendar year. Argentina’s captain at 24. Fifty goals in the league in one season. 821 goals and 362 assists in 1045 games. What can we say about him that hasn’t been said?
Messi is one of the best goal scorers of all-time. His goals, statistically and even more at sight, can compete with the ones scored by Cristiano Ronaldo, Pelé, Luis Suárez, or anybody else.
He is also one of the best passers in football history, competing with the likes of Xavi Hernández, Mesut Ozil, Kevin de Bruyne, Andrés Iniesta, or anyone that you can think of. In fact, he has the most assists all-time.
Moreover, he is one of the best dribblers that we’ve ever seen, maybe not as flashy as the Brazilians like Ronaldinho, Neymar, or Ronaldo Nazario, but probably more effective than all of them. His key dribbles are a simple body feint, a change of direction, a change of pace, an amazing last touch, or all of them combined.
Last but not the least, Messi is one of the most intelligent players on the pitch. In the level of creators and controllers of the game, playmakers like Johan Cruyff, Zinedine Zidane, Xavi, De Bruyne, Sergio Busquets, Luka Modric…
Lionel displays his football IQ every time he touches the ball. He can open up defences and create chances in the blink of an eye. Nearly every time, he makes the right decision in the final third of the pitch, one of the most difficult aspects in football.
Control, awareness, speed of thought and execution. Messi has no equal when it comes to putting that combination together, even now at 36 years old.
The only one who is in the top of all these categories, is Lionel Messi. He doesn’t like when they ask him about the best player in football history, he always stays humble.
“Although he may not be human, it’s good that Messi still thinks he is”, teammate Javier Mascherano said back in 2012.
Even when nearly every football legend kneels in front of your greatness.
Rio Ferdinand when talking about Messi in 2023, “He’s an alien, he’s different, there is no one like him.”
“I want to keep enjoying myself. As long as I can keep competing, I’ll keep playing. Hopefully for a long time.” Messi’s words after receiving his eighth Ballon d’Or.
If you love the game of football, just enjoy watching him play, as long as we can.
Pep Guardiola, back in 2011 said, “Don’t write about him, don’t try to describe him, just watch him.”
