Lionel Messi (Argentina) is expected to win his eighth Ballon d’Or.
“Messi mentioned the possibility of winning his eighth Ballon d’Or in October,” the English-language edition of Marca reported on Oct. 18, claiming that his main rivals for the award will be Alling Holland, Kylian Mbappe and Rodrigo Hernandez.
“I was lucky to get everything in my career and the World Cup was something I missed, so now I think a lot less about the Ballon d’Or after Qatar,” Messi said.
“I’m just enjoying the moment. I don’t think about the Ballon d’Or. If I get it, great. If I don’t, I’m happy that I achieved my goal… and now I’m with other people. Now I’m with the others. We are here to help the club win titles and I am thinking about it on a personal level as well.”
He’s not obsessed with the Ballon d’Or, but he’ll take it if it comes his way. It also means that he won’t be as hung up on the award as he used to be.
Marca gave reasons why Messi should win the Ballon d’Or.
The nominations for the UEFA World Player of the Year award were recently released. Messi, Holland, and Kevin De Bruyne made the shortlist. This award is usually a precursor to the Ballon d’Or.
In 2017, Cristiano Ronaldo won both awards, followed by Luka Modric in 2018 and (Karim) Benzema in 2022, who swept the UEFA Player of the Year and Ballon d’Or awards respectively.
Since the 2021-2022 edition, the Ballon d’Or organizers have been awarding the prize to the best player of the season rather than the calendar year. As such, performances from August through July are considered, including the 2022 World Cup in Qatar in November and December.
The organizers will announce the list of 30 nominees on September 6. A jury of 170 professional journalists from each FIFA member country will decide the winner with a score of six, four, three, two, or one. The criteria for selection include the player’s individual performance and team performance, as well as the player’s class and fair play. 스포츠토토
Playing history has been removed from the evaluation process. Only the current season’s results are considered, regardless of past performances.
Marca predicts that Messi will win his eighth Ballon d’Or because he won the World Cup in Qatar.
Marca explained that Messi won the World Cup, was named Final MVP, won the World Cup Golden Ball and Silver Boot (seven goals and three assists), and won the Ligue 1 title, and no player has done better.