Lionel Messi has won the 2023 Ballon d'Or. The Argentine has now won the accolade 8 times, which is pretty far ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo's 5, and Johan Cruyff's 3.

This year, it was always going to be a tough call between Messi and his rival, Manchester City sensation Erling Haaland, who notched up 52 goals in 53 matches last year and won the treble with Manchester City.

However, Messi won what is still considered by most players in the world - the pinnacle of football - the World Cup. The 36-year-old steered Argentina to their first World Cup since 1986. Messi won the Golden Ball, was the man of the match in the final against France, and had 7 goals and 3 assists in the tournament in 7 games.

While his Ligue 1 win with PSG and 20 goals and 20 assists at club level in the 2022–23 season make for decent reading, it's the World Cup that sealed his victory at the Ballon d'Or gala this year.