On November 20th, 2023 at 5:29 AM ET, France’s Kylian Mbappé expressed his belief that Lionel Messi would win the Ballon d’Or following Messi’s leadership in Argentina’s victory at the 2022 World Cup. Despite scoring a hat trick for France in the final against Argentina, Mbappé was unable to prevent Argentina from winning the title in a penalty shootout. Mbappé stated, “I knew he would win it [Ballon d’Or] the night of the World Cup final,” and added, “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.”
Lionel Messi, who scored seven goals and was named as the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup, won a record eighth Ballon d’Or, defeating Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Mbappé. Despite some questioning whether Messi deserved the award over Haaland, Mbappé was adamant in his belief that Messi’s World Cup victory made him the clear choice for the Ballon d’Or. Although both Haaland and Mbappé had successful seasons, with Haaland scoring 51 goals to lead Manchester City to a treble, Mbappé emphasized, “It’s true that Erling Haaland and I had a good season, but that next to a World Cup won by Messi, there is no comparison.”