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Barcelona manager Xavi says that Lionel Messi's 2023 Ballon d'Or win is a deserving one, as he's the best in history.
Messi, 36, won a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or award this week in Paris, finishing ahead of Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and PSG marksman Kylian Mbappe.
Both Haaland and Mbappe had better individual seasons for club and country. The Norwegian's 52 goals across competitions helped City to their maiden continental treble last season. Meanwhile, Mbappe starred with 41 league goals as PSG won a second straight Ligue 1 title. The Frenchman also scored eight times for France at the World Cup, where they lost to Argentina on penalties in the final.
Messi had a modest season with PSG, bagging 21 goals and 20 assists. However, his seven goals and three assists in La Albiceleste's victorious World Cup campaign swayed votes in his favour.
Nevertheless, the Barcelona boss reckons Messi is the deserving winner of the award, saying as per Barca Universal:
“Leo’s award is well deserved. Best player of the World Cup. He’s the best in history. I spoke to him this week. He was very happy.”
Messi is now three clear of the next most successful Ballon d'Or winner, Cristiano Ronaldo (5).
Lionel Messi misses out on MLS Newcomer of the Year award
Lionel Messi hit the ground running at MLS side Inter Miami this summer after arriving on a free transfer after a two-season stint with Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
He bagged 11 goals and five assists in 14 games across competitions. However, only one of those goals and two assists in six outings came in the MLS. That meant that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner missed out on the league's Newcomer of the Year award.
It went to Atlanta United striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, whose 17 goals took his side to a sixth-place finish and a MLS Cup playoff spot. Meanwhile, Messi's Miami side finished 14th in the Eastern Conference and narrowly avoided finishing with the wooden spoon.
They briefly flirted with the prospect of a dramatic postseason qualification, but in the talismanic Messi's absence due to injury, the Herons ran out of steam.
