Lionel Messi won a record eighth Ballon d'Or on 30 October 2023, extending his hold on football's most prestigious individual prize. The ceremony unfolded at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, with his wife and three children watching from the audience.
A World Cup that outweighed 55 goals
The vote by 92 journalists split along a single fault line: club dominance versus international glory. Erling Haaland arrived in Paris having scored 55 goals in 55 games for Manchester City, powering a historic Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble.
Messi's club campaign for Paris Saint-Germain was quieter, but the panel judged his seven goals and three assists at Qatar 2022 as decisive. That run delivered Argentina's first World Cup title since 1978, and with it the Golden Ball for the tournament's best player.
Three clear, a continent moved
The award widened the gap to Cristiano Ronaldo, who holds five Ballons d'Or and was absent from the nominees for the first time in twenty years. Only ten men have won the prize more than once.
Inter Miami president David Beckham handed Messi the trophy, a detail that marked a geographic first. Messi became the first active MLS-based player ever to win a Ballon d'Or, having joined the Florida club on a free transfer four months earlier.
"Happy birthday Diego. This is for you too," Messi said from the stage, dedicating the evening to Diego Maradona. "This Ballon d'Or is also yours and that of all of Argentina," he told the room.
The prize made official what Qatar had already written into record. At 36, a World Cup winner now stood alone at eight, a number no footballer had ever reached before him.
