Poland's star striker Robert Lewandowski believes Argentina's World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi is the clear favourite to win the 2023 Ballon d'Or. Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, Lewandowski said there are several other contenders for the Ballon d'Or. However, Messi, who has won the prestigious award a record seven times, is the favourite to win the award.
Football wizard Messi has made the Qatar World Cup his own in every way. Not only was the little boy from Rosario the best player in 5 out of 7 matches at The Greatest Show on Earth, Messi also won the Golden Ball with 7 goals and 3 assists. Among them, two invaluable goals scored in one of the greatest World Cup finals in history, held at the iconic Lusail Stadium.
Messi was not even nominated for the 2022 Ballon d'Or. But Barcelona star striker Lewandowski sees the award going to one of the greatest footballers of all time, who has lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time, in 2023. He said that Messi's club teammate Kylian Mbappe may also compete for the Ballon d'Or. But there is only one World Cup, which determines excellence. And as a World Cup winner, Leo is above everyone at the moment. This title was everything to him. He can now enjoy his achievement in peace.
Messi's return to Barcelona has been a topic of speculation for some time now. And Lewandowski has not hidden his interest and excitement about playing with the world's best player. He said, "Now we can see that Messi is playing more as a playmaker. Maybe his number of goals has decreased a bit because of this. Messi's tendency to pass the ball to his teammates has increased more than before. Still, he is scoring goals. Compared to other times, it can be said that he is now a footballer that any striker in the world would dream of playing with."
