Messi succeeded Karim Benzema when he won the "Golden Ball" (Ballon d'Or) this year at the award ceremony in Paris yesterday organized by France Football magazine (France). The 36-year-old superstar surpassed Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe - who won the "Silver Ball" and "Bronze Ball" respectively. Messi scored 7 goals, 3 assists at last year's World Cup and was named the best player of the tournament after Argentina defeated France in the penalty shootout in the final match in Doha (Qatar). This achievement helped the former Barcelona star increase the record for winning the "Golden Ball" in the history of world football, far surpassing the following people: Cristiano Ronaldo (5 times), Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco Van Basten (all won the award 3 times). However, after the award was announced, there were many controversial opinions about Messi's victory. Some comments said Haaland is more deserving than Messi.

Accordingly, the Argentina captain has benefited from a recent change when the "Golden Ball" award from last year was based on the player's performance in the previous season, instead of the calendar year. Messi's 2022-2023 season at club level with PSG was to win Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup. Messi scored 21 goals and 20 assists for the Parisian capital team, but did not feel happy here. He was even mocked by PSG fans at times, before moving to Inter Miami (in the top league in the US) earlier this year.

Many people think Haaland deserves to win the "Golden Ball" this year. The Norwegian international scored 52 goals in just 53 appearances to help Man.City win a historic treble last season (Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup). Witnessing Haaland maintain high performance throughout the season but still miss out on the "Golden Ball", many people were disappointed and disappointed with the results of the vote. Famous Italian sports journalist Fabrizio Romano expressed regret for Haaland in front of a Messi who has created such a big brand that he received some favor from 100 journalists from 100 countries at the top of the FIFA rankings in the vote.

Meanwhile, West Ham striker Antonio said frankly that although Messi winning the World Cup is a great achievement, we cannot ignore a team that won the treble and what Haaland did to break many records in the Man.City shirt. Therefore, according to this striker, Haaland not winning the "Golden Ball" award is a scandal. Some other opinions also agree with Antonio when emphasizing that if we consider statistics throughout a season, Haaland is the winner.

However, despite much debate, most public opinion still admires Messi's talent in a career that has spanned nearly two decades. With 819 goals and 44 titles to his name, he has become the most honored football player of all time. According to Opta statistics, the Argentine legend has won the best player award 345 times since the 2009-2010 season. During that time, Messi has played an important role for both club and national team, bringing him 7 "Golden Balls" in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021. What's more amazing is that he has been rated as the best player on the field in 673 matches in his career.