Messi all the way - Ballon D’Or voter explains why Leo deserved to pip Haaland

With all due respect to the supporting players, there can be only one king of kings.

That applies to a FIFA World Cup that produced one of the greatest redemptive storylines in the history of sport. And to a ballot organised with the express intent of identifying and anointing the best player on the planet.

If there has never been a Ballon D’Or announcement entirely immune from controversy, Lionel Messi being handed the trophy for an eighth time should not prompt any great outcry among lovers of the beautiful game.

No, Erling Haaland wasn’t robbed. Yes, Messi did more than enough to merit being elevated above his peers.

End of debate? Of course not. That’s what makes football such a hoot. But let’s run through the basic facts of this year’s competition.

As one of those privileged enough to sit on the jury of 100 journalists involved in the voting process, due deliberation over the respective claims of several candidates – Manchester City and Norway striker Haaland being merely the most obvious challenger to Messi – was always going to be heavily influenced by one inalienable truth.

What Messi did in Qatar last year - the way he carried, inspired, dragged and drove his Argentina team to a glorious World Cup triumph – was, by some distance, the outstanding footballing achievement of season 2022-23. Not just because they won. But because they won while relying so heavily on their captain, talisman, and quasi-religious national icon.

All jurors were sent the same guidelines this year, reminding us of the recent change from calendar year to season for the voting period – and laying out quite clearly the three main criteria we should use.

Individual performance and decisiveness? A big tick for Leo there.

Collective performance and track record? Another reason to vote for Messi, even if PSG underperformed in the Champions League – a fact more than offset by Argentina’s victory in Qatar.

Class and fair play, you say? As one of the most fouled players in the history of the game, Messi’s willingness to keep going, to keep running at defenders in the knowledge that another kick is coming, earns him merit marks in this category, too.

By all three measures, Messi is the man. And has been the man for so long partly, of course, because he is that rarest of things – a footballer capable of making you laugh out loud at his audacity and cheek.

Think about what he did to Josko Gvardiol in the World Cup semi-final. Now try not to smile as you recall one of the best defenders in the game having his soul displaced from his body by the veteran’s twisting, turning and tormenting feints and shifts.

The Ballon D’Or is all about rewarding the players capable of doing the extraordinary. It’s not an award for scoring the most goals. Nor is it an honour in recognition of a lifetime’s achievement. It’s a way of repaying a player for the joy they’ve generated.

And that is why Lionel Messi has more than earned this prize. Again.