Messi wins 8th Ballon d’Or award; dedicates it to Maradona
Guwahati: Lionel Messi was on Monday conferred the 8th Ballon d'Or award for his amazing performance in World Cup football in Qatar which Argentina won last year.
Messi has succeeded Karim Benzema who won the award last year.
“The last one I won was also thanks to what we achieved with the Argentine national team in the Copa America (in 2021), but this one is much more special because it comes after we won the World Cup,” Messi said after collecting his award at a ceremony in Paris.
“That is the trophy everyone wants to win the most, and it was a dream come true for me, my teammates and my country.”
The Argentine dedicated this award to the great legend Maradona who would have celebrated his 63rd birthday on Monday.
“Happy birthday Diego. This is for you too,” he said.
Messi scored seven times at the World Cup and was named the tournament's best player after Argentina beat France on penalties in the final in Doha.
This year’s Ballon d'Or award was a stiff competition where Erling Haaland came second in the final voting followed by France’s Kylian Mbappe in third position and Netharland’s Kevin De Bruyne in the fourth.
