Lionel Messi (36) may just have won his eighth Ballon d’Or, however, France manager Didier Deschamps isn’t fully convinced that he is the greatest of all time.
Messi was the strong favourite to win the Ballon d’Or having won the World Cup with Argentina back in December. It is the eighth, and likely final time, that he has won the prestigious accolade, awarded by France Football. No other player comes close to rivalling Messi in terms of Ballon d’Or wins. Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won five, comes closest. The Portuguese international did not feature on the shortlist to win the prize this year.
However, despite Messi’s achievements over the course of his career, Deschamps isn’t convinced that the former Paris Saint-Germain forward can be considered the greatest of all time. The France manager was present at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris on Monday night and told Futbol Picante, “The Argentinians [say that Messi is the best of all time]. He is one of them, but is difficult to say that Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappé, who is younger.”
Mbappé is yet to win the Ballon d’Or, but secured his highest ranking on Monday, finishing third behind Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and winner Messi.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
