WHAT happened? The France international sent a congratulatory message after the Argentine bagged a record-extending eighth Golden Ball trophy in Paris on Monday evening, as a reward for propelling his nation to a third global crown in Qatar last December.
There has been much debate on whether Messi should have won the award ahead of Mbappe and Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals last season to fire Manchester City to the treble.
However, Mbappe has no doubts and has hailed Messi as the deserved winner of the most prestigious individual accolade in football.
He wrote in a post on Instagram: “Congratulations Leo for your award. You deserve it.”
The bigger picture: Messi also shared a message for Haaland and Mbappe during his acceptance speech as he tipped the duo to be future winners of the award.
The PSG forward finished third in the rankings after winning the World Cup Golden Boot with France and the Ligue 1 trophy with his club.
He scored 55 times for club and country across the 2022-23 season, but fell short of guiding France to their second consecutive world title, which potentially cost him his maiden Ballon d’Or title.— Goal
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