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Lionel Messi

Forward and captain, Argentina

Sports Argentina Hall No. 31

Profile

Why they shine

Eight Ballons d'Or stand on one shelf, and the last of them came in October 2023, when Messi was already the most decorated player the game had produced. The World Cup took another year: 7 goals and 3 assists in Qatar, a 3-3 final settled 4-2 on penalties, and a tournament record of 26 appearances. At the 2026 World Cup he scored eight goals without reaching a second in the final, and Argentina lost the trophy to Spain in extra time. He plays in Major League Soccer now, and his 2026 Ballon d'Or vote still placed him in the top five.

Full name: Lionel Andrés Messi
Nationality: Argentina
Club (2026): Inter Miami CF
Position: Forward / captain
Ballon d'Or: Eight — 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023
World Cup 2022: Golden Ball and captain — 7 goals, 3 assists

Record

Honor record

Ballon d'Or

2009 · Dec 1, 2009

Paris, France

The first of eight, won at 22 with 473 points from 96 judges out of a possible 480, still the most unanimous Ballon d'Or in the award's history. Cristiano Ronaldo finished 233 points behind and Xavi was third, giving Barcelona the top three places. The presentation gala in Paris followed on 6 December, and Messi dedicated the trophy to his mother and his brothers.

Ballon d'Or

2010 · Jan 10, 2011

Kongresshaus, Zurich

The first FIFA Ballon d'Or, created when France Football's award and FIFA's World Player of the Year were merged. Messi took 60 goals for club and country in 2010 and the victory opened a run of four straight awards from 2009. The gala had moved to Switzerland for six editions, and his absence from Zaragoza's Champions League final win over Inter Milan only strengthened his case.

Ballon d'Or

2011 · Jan 9, 2012

Kongresshaus, Zurich

His second consecutive FIFA Ballon d'Or and the second of four in a row from 2009. Barcelona's treble, completed in May with the Champions League, was the platform for the award, which was decided by national team captains, coaches and journalists from 209 countries and presented in Zurich. Messi took the trophy as Barcelona's number 10 and the world's most watched footballer.

Ballon d'Or

2012 · Jan 7, 2013

Kongresshaus, Zurich

The fourth consecutive award, and the third of four straight from 2009. Messi's 91 goals for club and country in 2012, a total later recognised by Guinness World Records, took him to 41.6 per cent of the vote, four times the share of any previous winner. Cristiano Ronaldo came second with 23.68 per cent.

Ballon d'Or

2015 · Jan 11, 2016

Kongresshaus, Zurich

The fifth, making him the first player to reach five, in a season he closed with 37 La Liga goals and a second Barcelona treble. It was the last edition of the merged FIFA Ballon d'Or, with the award returning to France Football alone in 2016. Messi collected it in Zurich on 11 January 2016, with Ronaldo second and Neymar third.

Ballon d'Or

2019 · Dec 2, 2019

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris

The sixth, and the ceremony's return to the Théâtre du Châtelet after six editions in Zurich. Messi finished as the top scorer in both the La Liga, with 36 goals, and the Champions League, and took the European Golden Shoe for the sixth time, finishing the season with 54 goals for club and country. Virgil van Dijk was second, Ronaldo third.

Ballon d'Or

2021 · Nov 29, 2021

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris

The seventh, and the first awarded for a year in which he won a major international title, with Argentina's Copa América victory in July ending a 21-year wait. Messi took 613 points to Robert Lewandowski's 580 after scoring 40 goals in 2021, and the same ceremony introduced the women's Ballon d'Or, won by Alexia Putellas.

Ballon d'Or

2023 · Oct 30, 2023

Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris

The eighth, and a record no player has matched. Messi returned from a World Cup won in Qatar to take the award he had already won seven times, adding a 28-goal La Liga season, the highest in the division, and seven goals in the Champions League. He became the only player to win three successive awards in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

FIFA World Cup

2022 · Dec 18, 2022

Lusail Iconic Stadium, Doha

The trophy Argentina had not won in 36 years, delivered by a 35-year-old in his last World Cup. Messi scored twice in a 3-3 final, a penalty and a 108th-minute strike, and converted in the shoot-out Argentina won 4-2. His 7 goals and 3 assists took the tournament Golden Ball, and his 26 appearances set a World Cup record that still stands.

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