The 2023 Ballon d’Or will be awarded on Sunday, when Kylian Mbappé’s France take on Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final.
It may be early in the year to decide on such a significant individual award, but the nature of the Ballon d’Or vote means it would take an extraordinary performance to deprive a major Qatar 2022 player of the trophy. With two of football’s box office stars in the final and both having outstanding performances, one of them has to win the prize. Messi and Mbappé approach the final as the main contenders for the Golden Boot. They are both at five goals with the Argentine having a marginal lead as he has an extra assist. Besides, they were the two best players in the competition with Messi being the favorite for the Ballon d’Or.
Messi or Mbappé to go down in history
Also, Sunday’s winner will go down in the history books.. If Messi’s Argentina win there will be nothing left for him to achieve, while Mbappé will be the youngest player since Pelé in 1962 to win two World Cups – coincidentally the last time a team defended the title.
Both players have a compelling case, not only in terms of performance, but also in terms of the narrative surrounding the competition. If Argentina win, Messi will win his eighth Ballon d’Or, three more than Cristiano Ronaldo, who sits second in the all-time winners list. On the other hand, if France wins, it will definitely mark a new era in football, with Messi and Ronaldo handing over to the next generation. Of course, the Ballon d’Or is a secondary consideration on Sunday behind the World Cup trophy, but the Messi-Mbappé intrigue adds another layer of stake in the game.
