Ballon d’Or: Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati win men’s and women’s awards

CNN
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Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for a record eighth time on Monday, while Barcelona and Spain star Aitana Bonmatí won the women’s Ballon d’Or – the The annual football awards recognize the best players in both men’s and women’s football.

Messi, who first won the Ballon d’Or in 2009 and led Argentina to the World Cup late last year, received the award in Paris this year, the biggest title of the Inter Miami star’s career to date.

The former Barcelona star finished ahead of Manchester City forward Erling Haaland and Messi’s former Paris Saint-Germain team-mate Kylian Mbappe in the voting.

“I never expected to have a career like this. Thank God, I have been lucky to achieve all my goals and achieve everything in football, which is very difficult.” Messi said in a statement from Inter Miami boss, Former England superstar David Beckham said after receiving the Ballon d’Or award. .

“As Aitana said before, I’m lucky enough to be in the best team in the world, the best team in history, and that makes it easier to win more titles and therefore individual awards,” May said. West spoke of his trophy-filled time before speaking about his struggles in Argentina. The star had experienced plenty of ups and downs at Barca, including briefly considering retirement after international duty. albicelesteLosing on penalties in the 2016 Copa America final.

“I’ve been through a lot of difficult moments, especially with the Argentina national team… Things didn’t go well for me. I repeat, I never lowered my arms, I was always fighting to win the Copa America (2021), to win the World Cup And struggle, I’m proud of not getting caught up in trying to be easy and being able to make this happen.”

Messi also mentioned fellow Argentinian great Diego Maradona, who died in 2020 and is revered as a football icon and hero in Argentina.

“I want to mention Diego (Maradona) one last time. It’s his birthday today,” Messi said, “so I think there’s nothing better than to be surrounded by players, coaches, people who love football as much as he does The place wishes him a happy birthday, so wherever you are, happy birthday, Diego. This (award) is also yours and I share it with you and all Argentines.”

Two months ago, Bonmati played an important role in the Women’s World Cup in Spain, scoring 3 goals and providing 2 assists, and won the 2023 Golden Ball Award for the best player in Australia and New Zealand. She also helped the Barcelona women’s team win the double last season.this Blaugrana After defeating Wolfsburg in June, the team won its eighth F-League title and second Women’s Champions League title.

“I am very proud to receive the Ballon d’Or tonight. Although this is an individual award, football is a collective, team sport, so I want to share this award with my colleagues, staff, Barcelona and national team staff , because obviously, there was no title this year. I wouldn’t be here,” said Boumati after accepting the award from 24-time tennis Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic.

“I’m a bit nervous, I haven’t slept for days. It’s a dream for me to attend the biggest football event in the world, even though I’m a cautious person, but as I said, it’s special to be here.

“I’m lucky to play for a great club like Barcelona and for the national team. In both places, I’m surrounded by the best teammates who make me better every day.”

The midfielder is the second Spanish player to win the female Ballon d’Or, which was introduced in 2018, after Barcelona teammate Alexia Putras won the award in 2021 and 2022.

Behind Bonmarty in the voting were Chelsea and Australia star forwards Sam Kerr and Bonmarty’s This red and Barcelona teenage teammate Salma Palaruelo.

The list of nominations was compiled by France Football, after which a panel of journalists from around the world voted to decide the winner.

Bellingham, Haaland lead other awards

The first award of the night went to Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham, who won the Copa Trophy – awarded to the best player in the world under the age of 21 – last season while playing for German club Borussia Dortmund.

Bellingham has made a huge impact since transferring to white people In the summer, Scored 13 goals in 13 games, including a brace at the weekend to help Real Madrid win classic A win over Barca – and cemented the Spanish giants’ position at the top of the La Liga table.

The Gerd Muller Trophy for Forward of the Year was awarded to Manchester City forward Haaland. The prolific Norwegian scored 52 goals in his first season in Manchester, breaking multiple records and leading the team to a treble of league, FA Cup and Champions League titles.

Manchester City won the Men’s Club of the Year award for the second consecutive season after winning the Treble and impressing the world with their style of play. Guardiola’s side dominated Real Madrid in the semi-finals and defeated Inter Milan in a tense final in Istanbul to win the first Champions League trophy in the club’s history.

FC Barcelona Women won the Women’s Club of the Year award for a performance that included three titles – the Spanish Super Cup and the Women’s Champions League – and had six Ballon d’Or nominees for women, including winner Bonmati.

Men’s Ballon d’Or
Lionel Messi, Inter Miami and Argentina

Women’s Golden Globe Awards
Aitana Bonmatí, Barcelona and Spain

Gerd Muller Trophy (Best Forward)
Erling Haaland, Manchester City and Norway

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper)
Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa and Argentina

Copa Trophy (Best Player Under 21)
Jude Bellingham, Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid and England

Socrates Award (for humanitarian work)
Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid and Brazil

Men’s Club of the Year
manchester city

Women’s Club of the Year
Barcelona Women’s Football Team