Lionel Messi receives eight Ballon d’Or award in France

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Lionel Messi was handed his eighth Ballon d’Or award last night in Paris, France.

In second place was Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, while Kilian Mbappe and Kevin De Bruyne took third and fourth places, respectively.

Here is the full list of all thirty nominees in the men’s division and their final positions after the voting process:

• 1: Lionel Messi (PSG, Inter Miami & Argentina)
• 2: Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway)
• 3: Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)
• 4: Kevin De Bruyne (Man City & Belgium)
• 5: Rodri (Man City & Spain)
• 6: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil)
• 7: Julian Alvarez (Man City & Argentina)
• 8: Victor Osimhen (Napoli & Nigeria)

Lionel Messi and sons Thiago Messi, Mateo Messi Roccuzzo and Ciro Messi Roccuzz attend the 67th Ballon D’Or Ceremony at Theatre Du Chatelet

• 9: Bernardo Silva (Man City & Portugal)
• 10: Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
• 11: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
• 12: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
• 13: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Al Hilal & Morocco)
• 14: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City, Barcelona & Germany)
• 15: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)
• 16: Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, Al Ittihad & France)
• 17: Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli & Georgia)
• 18: Jude Bellingham (Dortmund, Real Madrid & England)
• 19: Harry Kane (Spurs, Bayern Munich & England)
• 20: Lautaro Martinez (Inter & Argentina)
• 21: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid & France)
• 22: Kim Min-jae (Napoli, Bayern Munich & South Korea)
• 23: Andre Onana (Inter, Man Utd & Cameroon)
• 24: Bukayo Saka (Arsenal & England)
• 25: Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Man City & Croatia)
• 26: Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich & Germany)
• 27: Nicolo Barella (Inter & Italy)
• 28: Martin Odegaard (Arsenal & Norway)
• 28: Randal Kolo Muani (PSG & France)
• 30: Ruben Dias (Man City & Portugal)

To win a Ballon d’Or award, a player should satisfy the largest number of voters gathered by France Football in team performance and honours, individual performance, class,  and fair play. This means that the player with the most accomplishments, both personally and with either his country or club, who played better and acted well both on and off the pitch than the others is most likely to get the award.

According to France Football, Messi deserved it again this time because of his substantial contribution to Argentina’s winning the past FIFA Men’s World Cup.

Lionel Messi gave the following speech after receiving the golden-ball-shaped award, which was his eighth so far.

‘Thank you very much, to share this with my national team-mates for what we were able to achieve with the national team,’ said Messi. ‘The entire group, the coaching staff, everyone involved. I’m delighted to be here once more to be able to enjoy this moment one more time.

‘To be able to win the World Cup and really achieve my dream, to share this with all those who were involved. 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.’

Many still think Erling Haaland should have won the award instead of Lionel Messi because of the young player’s achievements both in the Champions League and the Premier League, but Haaland and France’s Mbappe will have to wait for another opportunity as things stand.