It was indeed a glorious moment for Lionel Messi as he added an eighth Ballon d’Or trophy, winning the 2023 title to further reaffirm his position as the greatest of all time.
Surely, news of his victory would not settle well with fans of Portugul star, Ronaldo. This is as they are, however, convinced that the star deserves the trophy more than any other player.
Indeed, the above assertion is not coming as a surprise, this is because for years, fans of the two talents have been at loggerheads over who wears the crown as the greatest of all times.
Truly, two captains can never sail a ship, hence, many fall back to the decision of the organisers of the Ballon d’Or, whoever bags that award is hailed to be greater than the other.
The Tradition
Now, Messi on the heels of leading his home nation to the 2022 FIFA World Cup title, was again confirmed as the most recent winner of football’s most prestigious individual award in an October 30 ceremony from Paris, France.
As is tradition, Messi gave a short speech after being handed the trophy by Inter Miami owner David Beckham.
Beckham was invited to be this year’s presenter of the award.
As the world watched on, like spectators gathered in an arena for a theatrical performance, with smiles on the faces of many, Messi mounted the stage.
He spoke on his family, his international teammates, his time in Paris, and his football future.
Messi’s Speech
“Good evening. Thank you very much. First of all, I want to thank the people who voted, who selected me as the winner of this award.
“I obviously share this with my teammates from the Argentina national team — we are here representing everything that’s been achieved thanks to them.
“It is my belief that this is a gift for the entire group, the entire coaching staff, and for all the people of Argentina.
“I don’t want to forget to mention Erling [Haaland] and Kylian [Mbappe], they had a great year, an incredible year, both individually and collectively.
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“It was spectacular to watch them achieve everything they did, and I have no doubt that in the coming years they are going to win this prize.
Achieving Dreams
“I see a lot of young people here. There is no doubt that I am going to enjoy good football for a long time because of these types of players.
“I am lucky to have been at this ceremony for many years, and as the players keep changing and evolving, the level never drops, so we are going to continue enjoying it for many years.
“This is a special mention to those who have followed me throughout my career, because of how they experienced this World Cup.
“The desire they had for me to be world champion so that I can achieve my dream, the only one which I was missing…
“It was thanks to God that I received a lot of love, which was very special, as many people of different nationalities wanted Argentina to be world champions.
“I want to share and thank my families, the fans who are in Argentina and those in Miami, and of course my personal family, my wife and children once again.”
Watch video here:
💬 The speech of the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner, Lionel Messi #ballondor pic.twitter.com/HRaNdRwclG
— Ballon d'Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 30, 2023
Well detailed!