Ballon d’Or 2023 winner ‘leaked’ as Erling Haaland battles Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe

Ballon d’Or 2023 winner ‘leaked’ as Erling Haaland battles Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe

All the latest Manchester City news as Lionel Messi goes up against Erling Haaland for the 2023 Balon d’Or award

Argentina legend Lionel Messi is set to pip Erling Haaland to win his eighth Ballon d’Or title later this month after the results leaked, according to reports.

The 36-year-old, who now finds himself in the MLS with David Beckham’s Inter Miami, guided his nation to their third World Cup victory in Qatar in 2022, while also continuing to dominate club football across Ligue 1 with Paris Saint Germain and now in America.

The ceremony will be held in Paris, the city Messi left on a free transfer during the summer, on October 30, with Spanish outlet SPORT claiming the results for both the mens and women’s awards have already been leaked.

The report states that both Messi and Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati, who helped Spain secure the Women’s World Cup against England back in August, will be handed the awards at the Chatelet Theatre.

If the leaks are to be believed, it will be Messi’s eighth time securing the trophy and the first time a player has been awarded the accolade while playing outside of Europe.

The former Barcelona man will have beaten away tough competition from Manchester City star Erling Haaland, who spearheaded Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning season with 52 goals across all competitions, as well as his former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final that Messi ultimately prevailed in.

Speaking on the individual honour recently, Messi outlined how he has always prioritised trophies for the teams he represents, rather than individual accolades. “I have said it many times, the Ballon d’Or is very important due to the recognition at the individual level, but I never gave it importance,” said Messi via The Mirror.

“The most important thing for me was always the awards at the group level. I was lucky to have achieved everything in my career and after the World Cup, I’m thinking about that award much less, my biggest award was that.

“If it [Ballon d’Or] arrives, good, and if not, nothing happens. I was lucky to achieve all my goals in my career and now I have new goals with this club.”