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Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or would be the first of its kind

Lionel Messi has won seven Ballon d’Or awards, two more than any other human, but if he wins his eighth in October it will make more history. No player from a team outside Europe has ever won the prestigious ‘Ball of Gold.’

By Ken Garner

European football’s most prestigious award, the Ballon d’Or
European football’s most prestigious award, the Ballon d’Or / PIERRE VERDY/GettyImages
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The case for Messi

Lionel Messi
Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi runs to the ball in Sunday's 3-1 match against LAFC. / Sean M. Haffey/GettyImages

"After winning the World Cup, which is what I was missing, now I’m really not thinking about the (Ballon d’or.) … If I win it, great. If not, it’s fine."

- Lionel Messi

Messi must be considered the frontrunner for an eighth Ballon d'Or; besides leading Argentina to the World Cup, the only major trophy to have eluded him, he also tallied 42 total goals and 26 assists across all competitions. He was the World Cup's Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner, as the best player and top scorer of the tournament, and he helped PSG win yet another Ligue 1 title and the Trophee des Champions.

At his first Inter Miami press conference, Messi was asked about winning an eight Ballon d'Or.

“I’ve said this many times in my career: even though it’s a prestigious award, one of the top individual awards, I never gave it much quote-unquote importance,” he said. “The most important thing for me has always been team awards.

“I was lucky to have accomplished everything in my career. After winning the World Cup, which is what I was missing, now I’m really not thinking about the (Ballon d’or.) … If I win it, great. If not, it’s fine. Now I have new objectives with this club. That’s why we came here. To help the club win titles, and personally for me, to continue to win trophies.”

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