Bookmakers and experts claim that Messi will receive his 8th Ballon d'Or

In less than 2 weeks, the world will find out the winner of the 2023 Ballon d'Or, which will be presented on October 30th in Paris. The organizers likely already know the winner, as the award is nearly ready, possibly even engraved with the recipient's name.

It appears that there won't be much suspense this year. According to the Spanish publication Sport.es, the 8th Ballon d'Or of his career will be won by the 36-year-old forward for Inter Miami, Lionel Messi, who left PSG in the summer. This makes him the first player not from a European club to receive the Ballon d'Or from France Football.

Messi's success with the Argentine national team in the 2022 World Cup, where he was named the best player of the tournament, carries significant weight in this regard. All football portals and experts predict Messi's victory, giving little chance to his main competitor, Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.

Bookmakers also favor Messi. In various betting companies, his odds of winning range from 1.1 to 1.5, while Haaland's odds are around 5.0.

Therefore, Messi will add to his own record, having received 5 Ballon d'Or awards before 2015 and now adding 3 more since 2019 (after a 3-year break). His closest pursuer is Cristiano Ronaldo with 5, followed by Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff, and Marco van Basten, who each have 3 Ballon d'Or awards.

Earlier, we reported what Guardiola thinks about receiving this award.