Moments before the Ballon d'Or ceremony, the worst news that Haaland receives

The day of the 2023 Ballon d'Or finally arrived. Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi will know who the winner was after their great 2022-23 seasons. The Norwegian arrives as the winner of the Champions League and Premier League, being the top scorer in both competitions. While Lionel Messi finally achieved his long-awaited World Cup, where he was the best player of the tournament. Now, the votes have already been cast and in a few hours, the winner will be made official.

For many, Erling Haaland is the clear candidate to be the winner of the 2023 Ballon d'Or. The Norwegian footballer achieved an important record last season when he won everything with Manchester City and was a scorer in the two most complicated competitions in the world, during his first season in the English team. On the other hand, Lionel Messi had a spectacular World Cup, like the best of all and won the French league with PSG. However, in the Champions League he left a lot behind.

However, as Fabrizio Romano can confirm, hours before the 2023 Ballon d'Or, Lionel Messi will be the winner of the award. Everything is ready, and the player meets with his family and members of the Inter Miami board in Paris, to receive the award for best player of the 2022-23 season. Lionel Messi would win his eighth Ballon d'Or, a figure that for many will be unattainable in the history of football.

What does Messi say about possibly winning the Ballon d'Or?

"I think that during my career I said it many times. The Ballon d'Or is a very important award because of what it means. Because of its recognition, it is one of the most beautiful awards in the world on an individual level. But I never gave it importance, in quotes ", to the individual awards. The most important thing was the collective awards. I was lucky to win everything in my career, and the World Cup was what I was missing," Messi said in an interview with MARCA.