Messi ‘beats Haaland, Mbappe to win 8th Ballon d’Or’

Lionel Messi is expected to lift his eighth Ballon d’Or later this month after the winners for both the male and female awards for 2023 were leaked.

This comes after the 36-year-old achieved glory with Argentina after leading them to World Cup triumph in Qatar last year.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain star then joined Inter Miami in July and immediately set MLS abuzz with a string of spectacular performances.

According to Spanish media outlet SPORT, Messi will be awarded his 8th Ballon d’Or ahead of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who helped his club to a treble, and Kylian Mbappe who was the World Cup’s Golden Boot winner.

Mbappe guided France to the final in Qatar, where he scored a hat-trick against Argentina, only to lose the trophy on penalties.

In addition to Messi’s triumph, the report adds that Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati has won her first-ever Ballon d’Or Feminin prize on the back of Spain’s success at the Women’s World Cup.

As was the case with Messi, Bonmati also won the Golden Ball at this year’s Women’s World Cup, and the 25-year-old also clinched Champions League and Primera Division glory with La Blaugrana.