Lionel Messi Ballon d’Or Chances: Breaking Down the Statistics Behind Push for Eighth Title

• The Qatar World Cup last year is set to hold much sway on who wins the 2023 Ballon d'Or award
• Erling Haaland had a high goalscoring season with Manchester City as they won the treble
• However, Messi's World Cup win complicates his chances as we take a look at the Argentine's statistics

With less than 11 days to go to the crowning of the 2023 Ballon d'Or winner, debate has reignited on social media and football circles on who deserves to win.

Lionel Messi's World Cup triumph with Argentina put him in good standing to claim an eighth title despite a below-par performance with Paris Saint-Germain.

They might have retained the Ligue 1 title, but they suffered an early Champions League exit to Bayern Munich in the round of 16.

Lionel Messi's 2022/2023 season

The World Cup is the most coveted trophy in world football, which explains why many believe that this year's Ballon d'Or is Messi's for the taking.

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Football

We take a look at the list of his achievements and statistics as captured by WhoScored.com.

Trophies

World Cup

Ligue 1

French Super Cup

Individual

Golden Ball at the World Cup

Joint most assists at the World Cup

Second-best top scorer at the World Cup

Highest-rated player in Europe's top five leagues

Most man-of-the-match awards in Europe's top five leagues

28 goals, 23 assists overall

Why Messi will beat Haaland

In a previous report, Sports Brief explained why Messi holds the Ballon d’Or advantage over Haaland in the 2023 vote despite the Man City star and his team winning the treble.

Apart from the FIFA World Cup factor, the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner starred in major games compared to the Norwegian’s outings in games like the UEFA Champions League.

Biggest Ballon d'Or 'robberies' in history

Sports Brief also reported that the decision to hold the 2022 World Cup in the 'weird' month of December brought about unprecedented debate ahead of the 2023 Ballon d'Or race.

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The tournament is often a strong indicator of who will win, with Messi believed to be leading the race for the coveted gong, yet Haaland has since immersed himself in that debate.

There is no doubt that the 2023 race to the top individual prize in football will be a heated one, but what are some of the most controversial Ballon d'Or calls in the award's history?