Messi receives the award with his three sons Lionel Messi, left, shows the golden ball trophy to his three sons at the ceremony after winning the Ballon d'Or on Nov. 31. The three sons have often been caught on camera trying to get to the trophy first at ceremonies where Messi receives awards. The son closest to the trophy is Matteo, the second son.

The "God of Soccer" Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) has won the Ballon d'Or for the eighth time in his career.

Messi beat out Elling Holland (Manchester City) to win the men's award at the 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris, France, on Nov. 31. The Ballon d'Or, which means "golden ball" in French, is the world's most prestigious award for soccer players. The winner is selected by a vote of 100 soccer journalists from the top 100 countries in the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) rankings. French soccer publication France Football organizes the awards. In this year's voting of the 30 finalists, Messi came in first, Holland second, and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) third. The voting scores of the 30 finalists will be revealed on Thursday.

For Messi, the award is his second Ballon d'Or in two years and eighth overall since 2021. It is the most of any player in the history of the award, extending his lead over second-place Cristiano Ronaldo (Alnasr-5). Ronaldo was not among the 30 finalists this year.

At 36 years old, Messi is also the second oldest recipient of the award. England international Stanley Matthews (1915-2000) won the award in 1956 when he was 41. Messi also became the first non-European player to win the Ballon d'Or. Messi, who played for PSG in the French Ligue 1 until last season, joined Inter Miami in the U.S. Major League Soccer (MLS) in July of this year. Miami owner David Beckham was on hand to present Messi with the Golden Ball trophy.

There's no doubt that Messi won the award for his impressive performance at last year's World Cup in Qatar. In terms of club performances, Holland has the edge. Holland scored 36 goals in the English Premier League (EPL) last season and 12 in the UEFA Champions League. He was the top scorer in both competitions, leading his team to the top of the table. Messi scored 16 league goals last season while playing for PSG. PSG finished atop Ligue 1 but failed to advance past the round of 16 in the Champions League.

However, Messi scored seven goals and three assists at the World Cup in Qatar, including two in the final, to lead Argentina to their first title in 36 years. He also won the Golden Ball, the tournament's most valuable player (MVP) award. Messi said: "The Ballon d'Or is always special every time I receive it. This time it's especially rewarding because of the Argentine national team. Winning the World Cup is really special. This trophy is for the Argentine people," said Messi on winning his eighth Ballon d'Or. Messi also paid tribute to Holland, who will have to wait until another time to win his first Ballon d'Or: "Holland and Mbappe will also win the Ballon d'Or one day. This Ballon d'Or could have been his," he said, before turning to Holland and saying, "Next year, you'll get it." On the night, Holland was presented with the Gerd Muller award, which is given to the player who scored the most goals in the previous season. Holland has scored 56 goals for both Manchester City and the Norwegian national team.

Kim Min-jae (Bayern Munich), the only Asian player to make the 30-man shortlist, came in at No. 22. This was the highest ranking for a defender. The previous highest ranking for an Asian player was 11th, achieved by Son Heung-min (Tottenham) last year. The Women's Ballon d'Or went to Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona). Bonmati won the Golden Ball after leading Spain to its first-ever Women's World Cup title this year. 19가이드03