Messi wins record-extending 8th Ballon d’Or, Bonmati takes women’s award

Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmati were crowned the men’s and women’s 2023 Ballon d’Or winners at a ceremony in Paris on Tuesday.

Both players played pivotal roles in their respective countries lifting the World Cup.

Argentina won the competition for a third time and first since 1986 with Messi scoring twice in the final in December 2022 while Spain’s women lifted the trophy after beating England in August 2023.

There were also individual awards for Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland and Emiliano Martinez.

Team of the year went to two treble winners – Manchester City in the men’s category and their female counterparts for Barcelona.