Former Manchester United Captain Antonio Valencia Hails Lionel Messi, Tips PSG Star to Win More Ballon d’Ors

Former Manchester United Captain Antonio Valencia Hails Lionel Messi, Tips PSG Star to Win More Ballon d’Ors

Martin Moses
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:10 PM
In this article:
FIFA World Cup logo
FIFA World Cup
International
French Ligue 1 logo
FRA Ligue 1
France
Lionel Messi logo
L.Messi
Inter Miami CF logoFArgentina logo
  • Retired Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia has claimed rather boldly that Lionel Messi could easily win more Ballon d'Ors
  • Messi is currently the record holder as far as the individual award is concerned, having won seven in his career
  • Valencia retired in 2021 after a brief stint with Mexican side Queretaro

Antonio Valencia has heaped praise on Paris Saint-Germain forward Lionel Messi, calling him the best ever to do it.

Valencia, who is a former Manchester United captain, came up against Messi on multiple occasions when Messi was at Barcelona and in the national team setups.

Antonio Valencia, Lionel Messi, Barcelona, Manchester United, Ballon d'Or
Antonio Valencia joined Manchester United in 2009 and left in 2019. Photo by Stu Forster.
Source: Getty Images

Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU ➡️ find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy!

Messi has yet to return to his imperious form after switching sides from Barcelona to PSG. However, the Argentine has already started to show glimpses of his potential this season, having scored three goals and provided three assists so far.

Sportskeeda reports that Valencia believes Messi can win at least four more Ballon d'Or before calling it quits on his career. Messi currently has seven to his name.

Ask Messi how many more years he will play. If he says 3 or 4 more years, you have to say: 'Well, there are the 4 Ballon d'Ors. He is unique; he is touched by God, and we must recognise it. When a player stands out, I like to recognise him, and for me, Messi is one of the best in history

Messi's greatest chances of lifting another Ballon d'Or will come when he leads his nation to FIFA World Cup glory in December or if he can manage to guide PSG to Champions League glory.

Lionel Messi could pass Cristiano Ronaldo's record this season

Sports Brief had earlier reported that Lionel Messi will have a perfect opportunity to equal or pass Cristiano Ronaldo's impressive record in the Champions League this season.

The Paris Saint-Germain star has always been involved in a neck-to-neck battle with Ronaldo. Ronaldo has an edge in Europe's top club competition, but all that could change this season.

Ronaldo is facing the daunting prospect of failing to participate in the Champions League for the first time in over 15 years. Manchester United could only qualify for the Europa League and Ronaldo's attempts to leave the club or find another Champions League-playing club have so far been futile.

Authors
Martin Moses photo
Martin Moses
Martin Moses is a sports journalist with over five years of experience in media. He graduated from Multimedia University of Kenya (Bachelor of Journalism, 2017-2021)
Tags
World