Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappé came in third in Monday night's Ballon d'Or awards, an achievement somewhat overshadowed by former capital club teammate Lionel Messi winning a stunning eighth trophy for being the best player omni the world over the previous year.
Although both Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi were with Ligue 1 Uber Eats champions PSG last season, and both players had massive campaigns in the World Cup - not to mention awesome performances in the showpiece final - it was 2022 World Cup winner and holder of seven previous Ballons d'Or Lionel Messi who came out on top at the prestigious ceremony in Paris on Monday night.
Messi: 'My last Ballon d'Or'
"I think this is my last Ballon d'Or," Messi, now with MLS club Inter Miami, told French sports daily L'Equipe after accepting his record-extending award - 14 years after winning his first. "And I'm happy to have achieved everything I've achieved and to be the only player with eight Ballon d'Or awards. And that's all there is to it."
A new great rivalry
While Lionel Messi's GOAT status was locked in with this eighth gong - his third since career-long rival Cristiano Ronaldo won the last of his five trophies in 2017 - Kylian Mbappé's rivalry with Norwegian international Erling Haaland is still in its early stages.
Both are revered strikers with massive goal tallies but it was the Manchester City man who won this round. With his 52 goals in 53 matches in 2022-23, an insane tally that helped the Mancunians to the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League - their greatest-ever season - Haaland pipped Mbappé to second place.
Messi: Mbappé 'Immensely talented'
However, the man who bagged just the second-ever World Cup final hat-trick - against Messi and co. no less - was all smiles as he sat next to Haaland in the ceremony in Paris, and you can be sure that the Boy from Bondy will be one of the front-runners for the 2024 edition of football's top individual prize as this next great rivalry hots up!
"I spent two years at the same club as Kylian," said Messi on Monday night. "We trained and played together, and I know how immensely talented he is."
Meanwhile, Mbappé's Paris Saint-Germain and France teammate Randal Kolo Muani, who had a sensational 2022-23 season with Eintracht Frankfurt, was Ligue 1 Uber Eats' other representative in the Ballon d'Or's Top 30, coming in at number 28.
