In a rather staggering turn of events, Lionel Messi is once again favourite to win the Ballon d’Or.
Messi is the record winner of football’s most prized individual award, winning it eight times, three more than second-placed Cristiano Ronaldo.
His last win came in 2023, which was very much seen as a farewell to arguably the greatest player of all time.
Messi had just inspired Argentina to their third World Cup and first under his leadership, being player of the match in most of their showings.
But he’d also had a poor season for PSG and stepped away from elite European football with a switch to Inter Miami.
Messi is again Ballon d’Or favourite
Now three years later and three years older aged 39, he could win a ninth.
His inspirational and record breaking performances have booked Argentina another World Cup final spot, this time against Spain.
Messi has a staggering eight goals and four assists in seven games, and leads the all-time list on both metrics.
On top of that, his rivals for the Ballon d’Or are now all out of the competition.
Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise were his main challengers, but they’ll now be fighting for the rather pointless third-place title on Saturday when France face England.
The only other competitor to Messi left in the competition is Spain’s Lamine Yamal, who has had a far less stand-out competition that his idol.
That means that Messi is now top of the Ballon d’Or betting markets according to most bookmakers, and Lamine would have to do something rather spectacular on Sunday to stop him.
Ballon d’Or odds
- Lionel Messi 6/4
- Harry Kane 9/4
- Kylian Mbappe 4/1
- Lamine Yamal 4/1
- Jude Bellingham 8/1
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