Messi commented on winning the Ballon d'Or 2023

Argentine striker Lionel Messi won his next Ballon d'Or award today in Paris. The Inter Miami forward received his eighth award for himself from the hands of David Beckham.

After the award, Messi thanked his teammates and also stated that Haaland and Mbappé will receive the award in the future.

"Thank you to everyone, especially my teammates. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. This Ballon d'Or is a great gift for the whole of Argentina.

The level of competition never goes down, I've been lucky enough to be here over the years. I want to give special thanks to all the people who were happy that Argentina became world champion. Thanks also to all my family, my wife, my children, for being there for me in the most difficult moments and helping me realize my dreams in soccer. Without you it would not have been possible.

I want to mention Maradona. Happy birthday, I think there is no better place than here to congratulate him, surrounded by players and with the ball. This Ballon d'Or also belongs to you and to the whole of Argentina.

I was very happy, I played for the best team in the world, the best in history, and because of that I was able to win a lot of individual honors. I had very bad times with Argentina, but I never gave up on winning the Copa America and the World Cup, so I'm proud that I didn't give up," Messi said.

Recall that in the final vote, the Argentine was ahead of Erling Holand and Kylian Mbappe.