Mbappe makes his feelings on Messi winning Ballon d'Or empathically clear

20 November 2023 , 18:56

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Kylian Mbappe said he believed Lionel Messi would win the Balon d'Or for the eighth time (Image: Stefan Matzke - sampics/Corbis via Getty Images)

Football star Kylian Mbappe was always confident Lionel Messi would win the 2023 Ballon d’Or.

The Frenchman was up for the prestigious award along with the Argentine, and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland. The 24-year-old won the league with Paris Saint-Germain alongside Messi last season and scored a hat-trick against him in the World Cup final.

But the forward finished third in the voting, while Haaland, who won the treble with City and broke the record for the most goals scored in a Premier League season, finished second behind Messi. The 36-year-old Inter Miami forward scored seven goals en route to achieving his dream of winning the World Cup for Argentina, the nation's first since 1986.

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After watching Messi lift football’s greatest prize, as he did four years earlier, Mbappe knew his former teammate would extend his record number of Ballon d’Or wins. "I knew he would win it [Ballon d'Or] the night of the World Cup final," the PSG player said.

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"Messi deserves it. If he wins the World Cup he has to win the Ballon d'Or. He is one of the best in history, if not the best." Not only did Messi win Ligue 1 with PSG and finally experience World Cup glory, he also enjoyed a scintillating start to his time at Inter Miami.

After his contract with the French champions expired, Messi joined the MLS team languishing at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and in wretched form. On his debut, Messi announced his arrival in style with a sumptuous free-kick late on to help Miami defeat Cruz Azul.

Lionel Messi's former Barcelona teammate Bojan has strong views on how the club should manage its young talents in the wake of the Argentine's incredible tenure. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

He has since scored 11 goals in 14 games and won the Leagues Cup after beating Nashville in an enthralling penalty shootout - the first trophy in the club's history. After receiving his eighth Ballon d'Or ward from Inter Miami owner David Beckham, Messi said: "It's nice to be here once more to enjoy this moment. To be able to win the World Cup and achieve my dream.

"I couldn't imagine having the career I've had and everything I've achieved. The fortune I've had to be part of the best team in history. All of them [Ballon d'Or awards] are special for different reasons." Despite Messi’s achievements over the past year, many believed Haaland deserved to win his first Ballon d’Or after taking the Premier League by storm in his first season in England.

The Norwegian scored 51 goals to lead City to Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup glory. But Mbappe, who bagged 29 league goals in 34 league appearances last season and has 13 Ligue 1 goals to his name so far this term, said there's no debate. "It's true that Erling Haaland and I had a good season,” he added. “But that next to a World Cup won by Messi, there is no comparison."

Liam Llewellyn