Is it decided? Messi should confirm his status as the best footballer in history and win the next most prestigious individual award

Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are among the hottest candidates for the Ballon d’Or, or Ballon d’Or. The most prestigious individual award is expected to be decided by now.

Although the Ballon d’Or ceremony will not take place until 30 October, the winner has been talked about on social media for some time. Now, however, it has been confirmed by the Spanish daily Sport, which has leaked the name of the favourite.

It’s not official. It may not actually be. However, the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or is Lionel Messi, currently the star of the American team Inter Miami.

If the prediction proves true, it will be the eighth Ballon d’Or of his career for the Barcelona legend. The best footballer in history now has 7 of them to his credit, a historic record. Long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo has only collected 5 of these awards.

Just 7 more Ballons d’Or will be hard for anyone to ever match. But 8? Hardly a reachable benchmark for any rising star. Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Lamine Yamal will have their work cut out for them.

The biggest competitor in the quest to win the most prestigious individual award in the football world was Haaland for the Argentine idol. The Manchester City sharpshooter was scoring goal after goal.

Does Messi deserve another Ballon d’Or?

Fans have long been saying that a new rising generation should vie for the most prestigious prize, but Lionel Messi, even at 36, is not one of the old guard. Where he plays, he is a difference maker.

It was so in Paris and it was so in the Argentina jersey, with which he walked to the World Cup title, thus completing a spectacular story and making football complete when he is missing almost no trophy from the competitions he has played.

Messi scores goals, collects assists. He scores from direct kicks, converts penalties, scores goals from behind the sixteen, has no problem working out a goal himself, but equally he sets up chances and sets up attacking actions.

He’s seen in big games, he’s hard to nullify. Messi alone can decide a match. His rival Haaland has the task of scoring goals. Once he doesn’t have support, he can’t do anything on his own. This is also a clear reason why the Argentine deserves another Ballon d’Or and the status of the best footballer in history.

It’s worth noting that it’s only recently been 19 years since his debut in a Barcelona jersey.

Source: Sport.es, Transfermarkt, WhoScored, Fabrizio Romano