Lionel Messi responds after being asked whether he is ‘best player in history’ following 8th Ballon d'Or win 

Lionel Messi provided a humble response when asked if was the best player in football history following his eighth Ballon d'Or triumph.

On Monday (October 30) in Paris, the Inter Miami attacker beat Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the trophy. He now stands three Ballon d'Or titles ahead of arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo.

When asked if would now go down as the best player ever, Messi responded by saying (via All About Argentina):

"As I always said, I do not know if I am the best player in history or not. If I am one of the best, then this is a wonderful thing."

Lionel Messi won the award first in 2009 and then followed it up with victories in the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021. After receiving last night's honor, he said (via ESPN):

"I couldn't imagine having the career that I've had. Everything that I've achieved. It's nice to win these individual trophies."

Many considered the Barcelona icon to be favourite for the trophy following his World Cup success with Argentina in Qatar last year. Messi scored seven goals and assisted three during the competition, including a brace against France in the final.

He was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player and finished on top of the assists charts. With his former club Paris Saint-Germain, Messi recorded 21 goals and 20 assists from 41 appearances across all competitions in the 2022/23 campaign.

---

When Lionel Messi said he was happy being considered one the best players in the world after 7th Ballon d'Or

Lionel Messi at Ballon d'Or ceremony (via Getty Images)

Lionel Messi was previously asked whether he was the best player in the world following his seventh Ballon d'Or victory in 2021. That year the 2022 World Cup winner beat Robert Lewandowski, who enjoyed an incredible season with Bayern Munich, bagging 41 league goals.

After the Inter Miami star won his seventh Ballon d'Or trophy, he played down a question about being the best in the world. Responding to this query, he told French newspaper L’Equipe:

"For me, the mere fact that I can be considered or cited as one of the best players in the world is more than enough. I don’t know how to say it so it won’t be misinterpreted... It’s not that I’m not interested, but I don’t attach much importance to it. It doesn’t matter to me if I’m the best or not."

Apart from winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, Messi has won the Copa America once, among other international honors. He's also won La Liga ten times, Ligue 1 twice, and the UEFA Champions League thrice.