Barcelona legend, Patrick Kluivert, recently ruffled a few feathers when he conspicuously omitted Lionel Messi from his list of preferred winners of the 2023 Ballon d’Or award.
Messi is highly expected to challenge for his record-extending eighth title at this year’s awards after guiding Argentina to a World Cup victory in Qatar last year.
Lionel Messi lifts the World Cup trophy on December 18. Photo by Shaun Botterill.
Source: Getty Images
The triumph in 2022 saw the new Inter Miami player ‘complete football’ by winning the trophy on his fifth attempt.
He was the perceived frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or for quite some time until Erling Haaland inserted himself into the debate with record-breaking performances in his debut season in England.
