Superstar Lionel Messi is the player who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards in history.
On the morning of September 5, the list of 30 candidates for the 2024 Ballon d’Or for men was officially announced by France Football Magazine. Here, superstar Lionel Messi was not on the list.
This result is considered to be the end of Messi’s dominance in this award, opening up opportunities for other younger names. However, Messi still holds remarkable records at the Ballon d’Or that may never be broken.
Player with most Ballon d’Or awards
In history, there are only 2 players who have won 3 or more Ballons d’Or. Messi holds the record with 8 wins, Ronaldo is next with 5 titles. In the fierce competition of top football, it is very difficult for a player to maintain his form to win consecutive Ballons d’Or.
In 2021, when he won his 7th Ballon d’Or, Messi himself admitted that his record was very difficult to break.
“I don’t know if my record (number of Ballon d’Or wins) will be broken,” Messi admitted, “I’m not sure if anyone can surpass it.”
Player with most Ballon d’Or awards at age 25
Names like Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland or Vinicius Jr are expected to become the new names to replace Messi to win a series of Golden Ball titles. However, Mbappe is now about to turn 26, Vinicius and Haaland are both 24 years old but have not once enjoyed the joy.
Meanwhile, at the age of 25, Messi has won 4 Golden Balls – a record in world football. 3 out of 4 times, the person in second place is superstar Ronaldo. Despite competing in a stage with a series of notable names such as Ronaldo, Andres Iniesta or Xavi, Messi still showed his dominance.
Player won 4 consecutive Ballon d’Or
Winning the Ballon d’Or is difficult, but Messi even won it for four consecutive years, from 2009 to 2012. Ronaldo also had a period of great performance, but it still took him five years to win four Ballons d’Or (2013-2017).
“Honestly, it’s unbelievable. I can’t express how it feels to win my fourth Ballon d’Or. I want to thank my teammates at Barca. Iniesta, it was great to train and play alongside you.
I also want to thank my teammates in the Argentina national team. My thanks also go to those who have accompanied me, to my family and friends. Especially my wife and children,” Messi shared when winning the Golden Ball award for the fourth time.
