Lionel Messi's crowning moment at the Ballon d'Or ceremony in Paris on Monday, October 30, 2023, was not unanimously accepted by the football fraternity, with many calling out the Argentinian's eighth triumph. Among those was journalist Tomas Roncero, who took to Instagram to explain why he believed the record Ballon d'Or winner did not deserve to extend his streak. Furthermore, Roncero stated that the World champion only merits five of his eight honours and that the latest should have gone to Manchester City's Erling Haaland. (Past Winners | More Football News)
"Hello, friends. What we knew has happened. They were going to give another Ballon d’Or to Messi. He went to retire at Miami, but he was already looking retired at PSG to prepare for the World Cup. He won the World Cup, yes, well, but with 6 penalties in their favour. The World Cup was 10 months ago, we’re in November. Messi has eight Ballon d’Ors well, he should have five, he has the Ballon d’Ors of [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi, [Robert] Lewandowski who won six trophies in one season and Haaland who was the top scorer of everything," Roncero said.
Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who was snubbed by the award this year, appeared to add fuel to Roncero's inflammatory comments by both liking the post and commenting with four laughing-face emojis.
Ronaldo's infamous bout with Messi lasted a decade between 2008 and 2017, when the pair won every iteration of the Ballon d'Or on offer. Messi, however, surpassed Ronaldo again in 2019 before adding two more in 2021 and 2023, the latest by virtue of his talismanic performance in Argentina's third FIFA World Cup victory.
