Ligue 1 Defender Claims Ballon d’Or Is Rigged After Lionel Messi’s 8th Win

• Jaouen Hadjam has claimed that the Ballon d'Or is rigged in favour of Lionel Messi
• Messi won a record-extending eight Ballon d’Or on Monday in Paris
• The Inter Miami star beat Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the award

Lionel Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or win is still causing controversy in the football world with some in support of his win while others have a contrary opinion as to who should have been named the winner.

The Argentina superstar beat Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe to the prestigious award after leading his country to the 2022 FIFA World Cup title in Qatar.

According to Sportskeeda, Nantes defender Jaouen Hadjam has now claimed that the Ballon d'Or is always rigged in favour of Messi as he disclosed that the 36-year-old should not have won in 2021.

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"It’s false, it’s rigged. It's crazy. We have to stop... Already the year when he took it from Lewandowski, we said nothing. Go ahead... No, it's crazy. It’s crazy."

Robert Lewandowski was touted as the favourite to win the 2021 edition after having a remarkable season with Bayern Munich, scoring a record-breaking 41 Bundesliga goals for the Bavarians.

Mbappe opens up on Ballon d’Or

Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappe has admitted that Messi deserved to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or in a congratulatory message sent to the Inter Miami star following his eighth award win, Daily Mirror reports.

The Paris Saint-Germain star lost the award to his former teammate after the 36-year-old forward won the Ligue 1 title with the Parisians and the FIFA World Cup with Argentina.

Messi has now won the Ballon d'Or in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and 2023, as he raced clear of closest challenger Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five awards.

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Messi did not deserve Ballon d’Or

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that this year, Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for an unprecedented eighth time. However, it is worth noting that there are dissenting voices among pundits and fans who contend that the Argentinian does not merit the accolade.

Securing the World Cup had perpetually been Messi's ultimate aspiration. It was the most coveted trophy that had remained beyond his grasp, despite his collection of every major accolade throughout his career.