Barstow has already given their predictions for this year’s award. What are their thoughts on the outcome of the prestigious trophy?
The French Football Magazine announced the results of this year’s Ballon d’Or competition in front of the biggest names in world football. This year’s recipients were Lionel Messi and Aitana Bonmatí, which has caused a stir amongst Barstow students.
Journalists from across the world voted on the prestigious Ballon d’Or award, given to the best man and woman in football.
For the eighth, and probably the final time, Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or with 462 points. Now, with 8 different Ballon d’Ors, Messi has become the most decorated footballer of all time, breaking Pele’s record.
The men’s award, interestingly, has been met with controversy because of young talent, Erling Haaland, who received 357 points. Haaland, who plays for club team Manchester City and internationally for Norway, broke the Premier League goalscoring record, as well as won the treble (a term used to describe winning a domestic league, a domestic league cup, and the Champions League) with his club.
Haaland came second in the Ballon d’Or rankings for good reason. But, football pundits and former professionals from Thierry Henry to Ronaldinho have all chosen Messi as their winner.
Even Pep Guardiola, the Man City manager, said in a post-match interview that “Haaland should win. We won the treble because he scored 52 goals but, of course, Messi — his worst season is the best of most players. Both deserve it.”
He continued saying, “Egotistically, I would say I want Erling because he helped us to achieve what we achieved, I would love it, but I won’t tell you it’s unfair if Leo wins.”
This question of club football versus international football has also been drawn into question, as the main achievement of Messi’s 2022-2023 campaign was of course his incredible World Cup win. The win was poetic in nature; in what he said would be his last World Cup, Messi received the most sought-after award of his career, winning player of the tournament in the process.
The World Cup is widely regarded as the best achievement in the sport but does a treble outweigh even the dazzle of this award? While critics agree that the World Cup takes the cake, Barstow students still disagree.
Leilani Galles ‘24, a midfielder for the girls’ soccer team says, “Haaland was robbed. He quite literally scored the most goals ever in a Premier League season. That doesn’t win him the Ballon d’Or? What kind of mockery of the sport is this?”
Tyler Mcneive, a Man City fan himself, agrees with Galles saying, “All Messi did was win a world cup. Even though the World Cup is important, the treble is really important as well. He [Haaland] had a record-breaking season, and he deserved it.”
“In my opinion, Haaland should have won. Messi didn’t do anything special except win the World Cup. He wasn’t the best soccer player in the world, so he shouldn’t have won the award for the best soccer player. It’s understandable, only because he added trophies to his collection,” says Owen Snyder ‘24, a forward on the soccer team.
“I think he [Messi] does deserve it, since he won the World Cup, and he had a very good season in terms of goal contributions. Haaland kind of disappeared in big games. Not everyone can score two goals and a pen in a final,” says Raj Fanaswala ‘24, a midfielder on the soccer team.
Paranjay Sharma ‘24, a Man City fan surprisingly agrees: “Honestly, it’s deserved. Messi deserves it, as he is the GOAT. GOAT things. Haaland wasn’t robbed, even though they both deserved it.”
Pierce Farinelli ‘24, a right back on the boys’ soccer team, says “The people who say it’s rigged are casuals. Even though Haaland won the awards, Messi is just that guy.”
Lasya Maganti ‘24, a center back on the girls’ soccer team, agrees saying that “it wasn’t rigged. Messi is my GOAT. He deserves it.”
Haaland did not walk away from the night without hardware, however. Because of his outrageous goal tally, Haaland received the Gerd Müller trophy, given to the best goalscorer of the 2022-2023 season.
Haaland, along with his team Man City, also received the Men’s Club of the Year award, a prize directly related to the club’s treble-winning campaign. The Champions League part of the treble is especially important, as it is the first Champions League trophy for Man City in the club’s history.
As for the women’s award, Aitana Bonmatí, a Spanish national who plays for FC Barcelona, won the Ballon d’Or, to the surprise of nobody. On top of winning the treble with Barcelona Femení, Bonmati, and Spain went on to win the World Cup.
Bonmatí also scored the winning goal in the World Cup final, completing the perfect season save for the controversy that surrounded the Spanish national team. The team has been embroiled in controversy, surrounding the women’s coach Jorge Vilda and the federation president, Luis Rubiales.
Vilda was fired after the World Cup win after much of the talent boycotted the national team because of his abusive nature as a coach. Rubiales also stepped down, the ousting caused by his own behavior when presenting the Spanish national team with its trophy: Rubiales kissed Spanish player Jenni Hermoso on the lips when presenting her with her medal.
In addition to the World Cup win, Barcelona went 28-1-1 in their league season, amassing an impressive 85 points. The team also beat out Wolfsburg in an incredible 3-2 comeback win in the Champions League final.
Other important winners included Jude Bellingham, who won the Kopa Trophy, or Golden Boy Award. Bellingham was also greeted on stage with a video message from Jamal Musiala, who came second in ratings for the award.
The pair were roommates when they played for their U13 England squad. Now, as Musiala plays for Germany and Bellingham for England, the two rarely see each other, especially since Bellingham moved out of the Bundesliga this year. Still, the two have remained close, keeping in touch in between their busy schedules.
Musiala congratulated Bellingham on his illustrious achievements, and commented on the fact that both of them both play for some of the biggest clubs in the world.
Musiala’s quote goes as follows: “Hi Jude, due to our upcoming game I could not make it to Paris tonight but I still wanted to send you congratulations on your achievement. Well deserved. We both can remember not long ago we were roommates in England and now you’re playing for Real Madrid and I’m playing for Bayern. Crazy when you think about it.”
“Two future Ballon d’Or winners, it’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what they’ll accomplish,” says Sharma.
Bellingham responded after the video, calling Musiala “classy.” He also explained that he “loves him” and “will always have so much respect” for him, no matter where their careers take them.
Farinelli thought the message was especially poignant, saying “It’s a really special moment for them both. I can only imagine being young teammates but then seeing each other playing for the biggest teams in the world. It’s really crazy that they both have achieved so much.”
Currently, Bellingham has registered 10 goals and 2 assists for Real Madrid in La Liga, and 3 goals and 1 assist in the Champions League. Even though Bellingham is only 20 years old, he is considered one of the most complete midfielders in the world.
Musiala is just slightly behind with 4 goals and assists for Bayern Munich. With his effortless, fluid, and technical playing style, Musiala is often compared to a young Neymar Jr., especially during his time at the club Santos in Brazil.
Missing from both the ceremony and the nominations was Cristiano Ronaldo, regarded as joint GOAT with Messi. After a disappointing World Cup campaign and a surprising move away from European football to join Saudi club Al Nassr, Ronaldo was not included in the Ballon d’Or nominations.
This also caused some controversy as Ronaldo’s goal tally is still high. Additionally, many have drawn comparisons between Messi’s move to the MLS and Ronaldo’s move to Saudi, saying that Messi’s move is the same as Ronaldo’s.
Farinelli says that the constant competition between Ronaldo and Messi is unnecessary: “I don’t think it’s a solidified GOAT, they’re both the greatest of all times, as they’ve both really completed football. I’ve enjoyed watching them both play.”
“Watching them play for Barcelona and Real Madrid was crazy. The vibes, the competition, and just the level of play is something I don’t think we’ll see again,” continues Farinelli.
Interestingly enough, IShowSpeed, a Twitch streamer and newfound fan of the beautiful game, was present at the Ballon d’Or ceremony. Speed is a self-declared Ronaldo superfan, even falling to his knees when meeting Ronaldo in Saudi Arabia.
Immediately, Speed caused widespread chaos, calling multiple players by the wrong/mispronounced name and yelling at the stage when Messi initially won his award. Funnily enough, by standing up, Speed caused the standing ovation that Messi received when presented with the Ballon d’Or.
“I don’t know why he was there. Bro started the standing ovation without even knowing. I don’t know who he thinks he is,” says Sharma about Speed.
“I thought it was funny,” says Snyder. Mcneive agrees, saying “Speed was hilarious at the ceremony.”
Speed’s antics, however, were all in good fun, as many of the players liked chatting with the streamer. Farinelli says, “He’s [Speed] good for football because he’s bringing a lot of attention to it, but sometimes he should tone it down a little bit. It’s funny that he started the standing ovation, especially since he’s such a big Ronaldo fan.”
All in all, this year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony was funny, controversial, theatrical, and poetic, all at once. Who do you think will win it next year?
