Lionel Messi was crowned men’s Ballon d’Or winner for a record eighth time last night at a glittering Parisian ceremony where his adoring wife and sons watched on as David Beckham presented him with the award.
The 36-year-old Inter Miami star is now three clear of rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who won the last of his five Ballon d’Or trophies in 2017 and was not in France for the A-list event on Monday.
In what could be the final time he is crowned the best male footballer on the planet, the Rosario-born forward was supported by his wife Antonela Roccuzzo, 35, and their three sons Thiago, 10, Mateo, seven, and Ciro, five.
Messi has now finished among the top three a record 14 times in total, finishing runner-up on five occasions. He has since inspired US fans after moving to Inter Miami from Paris Saint-Germain, but it was his imperious form in Qatar which saw him crowned again following Argentina’s third World Cup win.
Messi beat Manchester City’s Erling Haaland into second place with France’s Kylian Mbappe third. England and Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham was voted the Kopa Award winner for best Under-21 player in the world.
In a hint it could be his swansong, after an unprecedented career that began when he joined Barcelona aged 13, he said after collecting the trophy: ‘Erling deserved it very much too, he has won the Premier League, Champions League while being the top scorer of everything. This award could have been yours today too, I’m sure in the next years you will win it’.
The event was attended by many of the world’s best male and female footballers and their partners or spouses.
Lionel Messi was crowned Ballon d’Or winner for a record eighth time last night after leading Argentina to World Cup glory last year
Lionel Messi with wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their sons during the red carpet ceremony of the Ballon d’Or
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi after being awarded the men’s Ballon d’Or by co owner David Beckham
Messi hugs his boss Becks after receiving the award
Lionel Messi hugs his sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro on stage
Antonela Roccuzzo and Lionel Messi with sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro
Lionel Messi (L) holding his 8th Ballon d’Or award and FC Barcelona’s Spanish midfielder Aitana Bonmati (R) holding her Woman Ballon d’Or award during the 2023 Ballon d’Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris
The packed Theatre du Chatelet in Paris for last night’s ceremony
Accepting the award Messi said: ‘I couldn’t imagine having the career I’ve had and everything I’ve achieved, the fortune I’ve had to be part of the best team in history.
‘It’s nice to be here once more to enjoy this moment. To be able to win the World Cup and achieve my dream. To win the Copa America and to get the World Cup after all those difficult moments for the national team (was fantastic).’
David Beckham, the co-owner of Inter Miami, presented him with the coveted award at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, to a standing ovation from members of the crowd.
‘It’s nice to be here once more to enjoy this moment,’ said Messi. ‘To be able to win the World Cup and achieve my dream.’
Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who won a league and Champions League double before playing a pivotal role in her country’s World Cup triumph, won the women’s Ballon d’Or.
Treble winners Manchester City were crowned men’s team of the season while Haaland won the Gerd Muller Trophy for the world’s top-scoring striker after hitting a record 56 goals last season.
Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin Trophy for goalkeeper of the year after starring alongside Messi in their nation’s World Cup win.
The four-time champions league winner beat some tough competition to claim first place, with Erling Haaland coming in second, Kylian Mbappe coming in third and Kevin De Bruyne ranking fourth.
Lionel Messi, his wife Antonela and their children are surrounded by fans as they leave their hotel
Lionel Messi claimed his eighth Ballon d’Or title on Monday night in Paris
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi after winning the men’s Ballon d’Or with his sons
Sharp: Messi, 36, looked very dapper with a sharp black suit with a white shirt and a black bow tie
Glam: The 35-year-old donned an elegant floor length gown with a gold chain enhancing the ensemble’s asymmetric one shoulder look
Lionel Messi holds his awards for best player and top scorer after Miami defeated Nashville SC in the 2023 Leagues Cup final in August
The four-time Champions League winner arrived at the event alongside his family
Support: The couple’s three sons, Thiago, 10, Mateo, 7, and Ciro, 5, stood proudly together with their parents
Former English football player and Inter Miami’s co-owner David Beckham speaks on stage during the 2023 Ballon d’Or France Football award ceremony
Messi has won the Ballon D’Or eight times. Pictured (top left to bottom right) 2009 in Boulogne-Billancourt, outside Paris, on December 6, 2009; for the year 2010 in Zurich, on January 10, 2011; for the year 2011 in Zurich on January 9, 2012; for the year 2012 in Zurich on January 7, 2013; (bottom L to R) for the year 2015 in Zurich on January 11, 2016; for the year 2019 in Paris on December 2, 2019; for the year 2021 in Paris on November 29, 2021; and for the year 2023 in Paris on October 30, 2023
There were seven Man City players included in the rankings with five of them, Haaland, De Bruyne (4th), Rodri (5th), Julian Alvarez (7th) Bernardo Silva (9th) making the top ten.
And it was a big night for the Premier League champions, with the club also picking up the best team award.
Aitana Bonmati, meanwhile, claimed the women’s Ballon d’Or, after helping to guide Spain to World Cup glory in the summer, where she was named the player of the tournament after her epic performances.
The Barcelona midfielder also helped her club side clinch their fourth successive Liga F title, while also winning the women’s Champions League this year – their second European title in the last three seasons.
‘I’m very proud to win the Ballon d’Or,’ she said. ‘Football is a collective sport so I’d like to extend this prize to my team-mates and staff.
‘As role models we have a responsibility on and off the pitch.’ She added. ‘We should be more than athletes and keep leading by example and fighting together for a better, peaceful and equal world.’
‘Finally congratulations to the other nominees. They’re great footballers.’
Chelsea star Sam Kerr came second, while Barcelona stars Salma Paralluelo and Fridolina Rolfo came third and fourth.
England’s Lionesses Mary Earps and Rachel Daly made the top-ten, with the goalkeeper placing fifth, while Daly finished tenth.
Haaland, despite coming runner-up, didn’t go home empty-handed, claiming the Gerd Muller Trophy for the best striker, after his stunning 52-goal season, helping City win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Speaking on his award, Haaland lauded his team-mates, when asked how he was so dangerous in front of goal last season.
‘It’s a mix between having amazing team-mates and an amazing club from the physios to the coaches it’s a good mix of a lot of teams,’ Haaland said.
Erling Haaland came second in the rankings after his excellent season helping Man City win the treble
Haaland didn’t go home empty handed though and was recognised for his 52-goal season in 2022-23 picking up the Gerd Muller Trophy for the best striker
Kylian Mbappe came third, after the France superstar lead his team to the final of the World Cup in 2022 – where he scored a hat-trick
Aitana Bonmati claimed the women’s Ballon d’Or, after helping to guide Spain to World Cup glory in the summer
Manchester City’s Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson (R) and partner Lais Moraes and their son
Ivorian former football player and evening host Didier Drogba (L) and his partner Gabrielle Lemaire
Inter Milan’s Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez (R) and partner Agustina Gandolfo
FC Barcelona’s Ilkay Gundogan with wife Sara Arfaoui
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior
Swedish player Amanda Ilestedt (L) and partner Rainer Mueller
r Emiliano Martinez, left, and his wife Amanda ‘Mandinha’ Martinez pose for a picture prior the 67th Ballon d’Or
Georgian international and Napoli player Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and wife Nitsa Tavadze
Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva poses with wife Ines Tomaz
Barcelona goalkeeper and German international Marc-Andre ter Stegen and his wife Daniela ter Stegen
‘The passes I get from some of them sitting here tonight too. It’s a mix between a lot of things and I’m here to try to help the team.’
He was also asked by Drogba on whether he had any tips on how to score goals, and Haaland said: ‘I mean it’s my job so that’s why I’m here now because that’s what I’m good at.
‘My advice is to stay hungry and try and stay in the moment and to stay sharp.
‘You want to score and have this feeling, as I had quite a few times last season. And that’s why I want to do it more.’
Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham presented Messi with his award during the ceremony
Gary Lineker was also in attendance to deliver Haaland his award for best striker
Manchester City stars were ever-present throughout the evening, with the club also winning the men’s best-team award
And Barcelona’s women’s side also recognised, with president Joan Laporta picking up the best women’s team award
Tennis star Novak Djokovic was also present, after he was pictured at the Rugby World Cup final in Paris earlier this week
Many eyes last night were on his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, who has become famous in her own right.
The pair met when they were about the age of five back in Argentina. Messi was the childhood friend of Roccuzzo’s cousin Lucas Scagilia.
It’s said when Messi first laid eyes on her back in the early 90s, he asked: ‘Who is she?’
‘Antonela, my cousin’ was Scagilia’s reply.
According to Scagilia’s father, Messi ‘could not look away from her for a second.’
She visited the neighbourhood for two days and Messi immediately knew he wanted to be with her forever.
Whenever she stayed at Scagilia’s house, Messi would find an excuse to visit in the hope that he could catch a glimpse of her.
Often, this would be at weekends. He would write her love letters and told her that when they both grew up she would be his girlfriend.
Roccuzzo would watch Messi and her cousin play for the Newell’s Old Boys club in their younger days.
As his career blossomed, Messi moved to Barcelona when he was 13, but the pair remained in contact.
Five years later, tragedy bought them back together. Roccuzzo was devastated when her best friend, Ursula Notz, died in a car accident in 2005.
Lionel Messi won the Ballon D’Or again last night, but eyes were also on his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo
The pair (pictured together as children) met when they were about five years old. Messi was the childhood friend of Roccuzzo’s cousin Lucas Scagilia
According to Scagilia’s father, Messi ‘could not look away from her for a second’
Messi was so concerned about his childhood crush that he flew back to Argentina to comfort her.
It was this act of love that drew the pair back together and they became a couple soon after.
But Roccuzzo, then 18, wasn’t ready to move to Barcelona and she stayed in Argentina to get her degree in humanities and social sciences.
She then went onto study her postgraduate studies in dentistry at the National University of Rosario, but she dropped out after six months to be closer to Messi, according to Vanity Fair España.
The couple’s relationship did not become public until 2009.
On the soccer chat show Hat Trick Barca on the Catalan channel TV3 in January 2009, Messi was asked if he was in a relationship.
He replied: ‘Yes, I have a girlfriend. She is in Argentina. The truth is that I am well and I am relaxed.’
Just a few months later the couple went public during a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol local derby.
The couple’s relationship did not become public until 2009 and now they have three children together
Messi and Roccuzzo tied the knot in 2017 back in their home town of Rosario, Argentina
It was described as Argentina’s ‘wedding of the century’ and boasted a guest list of 260 people including soccer players Neymar, Luis Suárez and Gerard Piqué
Roccuzzo eventually moved to Barcelona to be with her soccer beau and gave up her career aspirations of being a dentist to be with Messi.
The next year Messi proposed to his longtime love and welcomed son Thiago two years later.
In 2015, Mateo was born, and the couple wed two years later in 2017 – 25 years after their first meeting – in their hometown of Rosario at a luxury hotel.
It was described as Argentina’s ‘wedding of the century’ and boasted a guest list of 260 people including soccer players Neymar, Luis Suárez and Gerard Piqué, who arrived in a private jet with his then-partner, Colombian pop star Shakira.
The bride wore a dress by Rosa Clara, a Barcelona-based designer who has dressed actress Eva Longoria and Spain’s Queen Letizia.
A year later the couple had another son, Ciro. Their clan also includes two dogs, a French mastiff named Señor Hulk and a more timid cockapoo named Abu.
And the pair’s love has endured, with Messi gushing in 2019: ‘My wife, Antonela, has lots of great qualities. I really admire how she deals with the day to day, she is always in a good mood and she approaches problems admirably. She is highly intelligent and well rounded in all aspects of life.’
The 35-year-old has become a savvy businesswoman, harnessing her more than 36.1 million-strong Instagram following.
She’s become one of the most famous women in South America with her philanthropic efforts and owner of a children’s fashion label.
The 35-year-old has become a savvy businesswoman, harnessing her more than 36.1 million-strong Instagram following
The couple with their children – Ciro, Mateo and Thiago – pictured with them in 2021
Messi asking Antonela for the car keys after people started to recognize him at the grocery store is the funniest thing I¿ve seen all day ¿¿¿¿ pic.twitter.com/0i9daVXLF2
— R ¿ (@Lionel30i) July 14, 2023
Those who know Roccuzzo say that she is ‘humble, modest and enjoys nothing more than to be at home with her boys and her two beloved dogs.’
Thirty years later, the couple shares several homes, including a $13 million mansion just outside Barcelona with views of both the beautiful Catalan hills and the Mediterranean coast.
There are others in Ibiza, Miami, and their home town of Rosario in Argentina. There they have a house called The Fortress with 25 rooms, including a playroom for sons Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.
It is, according to friends, where the Messis plan to retire. And that would take the handsome couple full circle back to when they met in 1993.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk