"He is a wonderful player", Messi said of this Ballon d'Or winner at Real Madrid

Exactly in one week the Ballon d'Or awards of the prestigious magazine France Football will be presented. The ceremony, which honors the best soccer players in the world, will be held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and many stars from all five continents will be present.

The most important award has Lionel Messi as the main favorite. The forward had a brilliant performance with the Argentine National Team at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where they won the third title in their history after beating France on penalties in the final. His strongest competitor will be Erling Haaland, who with 52 goals in 53 games led Manchester City to win the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League last season.

On the occasion of the awards ceremony, the newspaper L'Equipe posted on Monday a video recalling the latest winners. In 2022 Karim Benzema received the Ballon d'Or for his great performances at Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League. At the time, he beat Sadio Mané and Kevin De Bruyne.

The video included an interview with Messi, in which he praised the French striker: "I think Benzema was a fair winner. He deserves it for the great year he had and what he has been doing throughout his career. He is a wonderful player and I think this recognition is important for him and for soccer", said Leo about Karim, whom he faced many times in the 'Clasico' Real Madrid vs Barcelona.

Will he win it again?

Lionel Messi has been voted best player in the world more times than any other athlete. The first time he received the award was in 2009, when he was only 22 years old, and since then he has won seven. Next Monday he will have the chance to win his eighth Ballon d'Or in a 19-year professional career.