OFFICIAL: Messi extends his legacy by winning 8th Ballon d'Or

One of the biggest dreams of a professional player is to become the best in the world for at least one year, i.e. to win the Ballon d'Or award, presented by the French magazine France Football to the player who has performed the best over the previous season.

There have been legends of the world of football such as Kaka, Michael Owen... who have won this award, and even others such as Platini, Cruyff or Van Basten have received it up to 3 times. However, there are two beasts who have broken all the records in a fierce battle for the throne for years: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portuguese won the highly-prized award five times, equalling the Argentinian star, but the current Inter Miami player distanced himself from him by winning two of the last three editions and thus establishing himself at seven Ballon d'Ors... until today.

The Argentinian legend has been awarded his eighth Ballon d'Or as had been reported in various media in the last week, further increasing his record which seems increasingly impossible for any player to reach in the future.

Unstable season at PSG

Leo Messi's second season at PSG was much better than his first, in which he scored just 11 goals and provided 14 assists in 34 official games. The Argentine started the season in stellar fashion, although the way he started the campaign would end up being quite different to how he would end his time in Paris. 

The Argentinian gradually won over the fans of the French club, but the first hard blow came in February, when Galtier's side were knocked out of the French Cup in the last 16 after losing 2-1 to Olympique Marseille. But this was only the beginning of the rift between Messi and the Parisian fans.

The last straw came a month later, when the Ligue 1 champions' long-awaited goal vanished again after Messi and company were knocked out in the last 16 of the Champions League for the second year in a row by Bayern Munich. This set off a run of poor results that saw PSG come close to failing to win the domestic championship, as they finished just one point ahead of Lens.  

All this set of bad results and setbacks at the Parisian club added to the rumours that the Argentine was not going to renew and was sure that his journey in France was over, and so it was.

Crowned by long-awaited World Cup title

However, in the midst of a bad spell with PSG, Messi achieved what was missing from his near-perfect career: winning the World Cup with Argentina. The former Barcelona player had been heavily criticised by his own country's fans over many years as he failed to be as decisive with his national team as he was with Barcelona.

Argentina's No.10 looked set to finally win the coveted trophy in 2014 when a Mario Gotze goal in extra time confirmed Leo's biggest nightmare: losing the tournament in the final to Germany. Yet the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner had another bullet to fire at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, although once again the Argentine national team suffered a heavy blow. 'La Albiceleste' were outclassed by a Mbappe-led France side that would go on to win the World Cup by beating Croatia in the final. 

However, Messi probably had one last chance left: the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. It wasn't all plain sailing for Scaloni's team, who began their title contention with a shock 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opener 1-2. Victories over Mexico and Poland saw Messi and Co. qualify for the last 16. 

The Argentinians sealed their place in the quarter-finals after claiming a narrow win over Australia, before going through to the semi-finals after beating the Netherlands on penalties in a 2-2 draw. Only Croatia stood in the way of Messi and their second World Cup final, and the Modric-led side could do nothing as they were thrashed 3-0.

'La Albiceleste' were once again facing their tormentors and a clear objective: to get revenge on France for eliminating them last time out in Russia and deny them their second consecutive title. Scaloni's side came out guns blazing and took the lead with early goals from Messi and Di Maria, only to see a superb Mbappe equalise with a brace in the last 10 minutes. 

Yet again, 'La Pulga' proved crucial again as he also secured his brace in extra time to put his side ahead again. Although Mbappe, one more time, wanted to be the protagonist of Leo's nightmare by confirming his hat trick from the penalty spot in the 118th minute. Finally, Argentina managed to put their third star on their crest after Nahuel Molina scored the decisive penalty in the shootout. 

In fact, the former PSG player scored 7 goals and provided 3 assists to fulfil one of his dreams as a footballer and that the Argentinean people could finally consider him on a par with the legend Diego Armando Maradona, who died two years earlier.

New challenge: conquering MLS

After becoming world champion and finally deciding not to renew his contract with PSG, many people wondered: what will be Messi's next move? Although there was a lot of speculation that the Argentinian star could return to the club of his life Barcelona or follow in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo and try his luck in the Saudi Pro League, Messi had other plans. 

The former PSG player decided to start a new journey with MLS side Inter Miami, sparking a major madness never before seen in MLS. Although the regular season in Europe runs from August to June, Leo Messi also played part of last season for Inter Miami, as the domestic championship in North America starts in February and ends in October. 

Leo's career in the USA got off to a flying start, being instrumental in his first few games for bottom-placed Miami and leading them to their first ever title: the Leagues Cup. However, the Argentine legend could do little to help Tata Martino's team in the domestic championship, as injuries and physical discomfort prevented him from appearing in a decisive stretch for the team, which ended up finishing in the second last position and out of the playoffs.

In total Messi has 11 goals and 5 assists under his belt in 14 official matches wearing an Inter Miami shirt so far.

Haaland not ready for the throne yet

Although Messi has been the clear favourite to win the award, an incredible Erling Haaland has been hot on his heels all season and could even have snatched the eighth Ballon d'Or from the Argentine to lift his first. 

The Manchester City striker led the Sky Blues to a historic treble by winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in his first season with the Mancunian outfit. In addition, the former Dortmund man broke almost every record he faced, becoming the all-time top scorer in a single season in the English top flight with 36 goals. 

In total, the Norwegian striker scored 52 goals and provided nine assists in 53 official appearances for the Cityzens, making it one of the best debut seasons by a player in his new team in the history of football.