The attention of millions of football fans around the world on Monday turned to the Chatelet Theater in the French capital, Paris, to watch the ceremony of the new edition of the prestigious “Golden Ball” awards presented by the French magazine “France Football”.
This version of the award attracts great attention from all circles in the world of football, as it witnesses very fierce competition for the most prominent award. It is the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world. Frenchman Karim Benzema won the award in its last edition in 2022, relying on his great achievement with Spanish Real Madrid in the 2021-2022 season, when he won the Spanish League and Champions League double with the team. But an achievement greater than this is almost certain to be awarded the award in the current edition, given Argentine Lionel Messi’s historical imprint with his country’s national team, which once again places him at the forefront of candidates to win the prestigious award. Messi (36 years old) returns to compete strongly for the award in this edition, relying on leading his country to win the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar, 36 years after the team won its second World Cup title in 1986 when the legend Diego Maradona was the crowned star in the team’s ranks. Two months after winning the World Cup title, Messi received the “Best” award from FIFA (AFP). Messi played a prominent role in the team’s victory in the title and deserved to win the Golden Ball for best player in the 2022 World Cup. He also finished second on the list of top scorers in the same edition with 7 goals. Only two months after winning the World Cup title, Messi won the “Best” award presented by the International Federation of Football (FIFA) to the best player in the world, for the year 2022. Messi also won the French League title with his former team Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season, before He moved to his current team, Inter Miami, in the United States, to begin his career with the new team by winning the “League Cup” championship, for which Messi was crowned top scorer in this edition, and he also won the Best Player award in the same edition. Messi faces strong competition from more than one player for the “France Football” magazine’s Ballon d’Or award, and these players are led by Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, the English Manchester City player, who last season with his team won the historic treble (the English League and Cup and the European Champions League).