According to former teammate Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi deserves to win the eighth Golden Ball and is the best player in football history.
“I have no problem with the results of the 2023 Golden Ball award,” Mbappe said on November 17. “Messi deserves the title. When Messi wins the World Cup, he must win the Golden Ball. He is one of the best players in history, if not the best.”
Mbappe also emphasized that he and Erling Haaland both had a great season. However, when placed next to the World Cup championship, it doesn’t mean much. Right from losing the World Cup final on December 18 last year, Mbappe knew he would lose to Messi in the Golden Ball race.
On October 30, Messi won the Golden Ball with 462 points. Meanwhile, the player who won the treble in the 2022-2023 season with Man City, Erling Haaland finished second with 357 points. Mbappe ranked third with 270 points.
On December 18, 2022, in the World Cup final, Messi’s Argentina beat Mbappe’s France 4-2 in a penalty shootout. The 24-year-old French striker scored a hat-trick, but could not prevent his teammates at PSG from winning the championship. Messi ended the tournament with his second World Cup Golden Ball title. Meanwhile, Mbappe was crowned top scorer with eight goals, one more than Messi.
The contract between PSG and Mbappe is only valid until June 2024. The two sides have not renewed, which could cause PSG to lose everything after more than half a year. When asked about this issue, Mbappe replied: “This is not news related to the French team. If you ask this question, you have to come to the PSG campus and I will answer you. The country comes first.” . When I’m serving my country, I don’t care about that.”
On November 18, Mbappe will join France to host Gibraltar. Three days later, they will be guests on Greece’s field. Because France has won tickets to Euro 2024, these two matches are only of procedural significance.
Euro 2024 will be coach Didier Deschamps’ fifth major tournament with France, after Euro 2016, World Cup 2018, Euro 2021 and World Cup 2022. Under Deschamps’ guidance, Mbappe won the 2018 World Cup, entering the 1/8 round. Euro 2021 and World Cup 2022 final.
At PSG, Mbappe is working with the coach who won the 2014-2015 treble with Barca, Luis Enrique. After the beginning of the 2023-2024 season, PSG is leading Ligue 1 and ranked second in the Champions League “death” group.
When asked to compare Deschamps and Enrique, Mbappe replied: “In the national team, the coach adapts to each opponent, and gives me complete freedom on the left wing. That means I am a complete player. different and allowed me to expand my range of activities. I can still improve. Meanwhile, Luis Enrique involved me in more tactical structures. I adapted to both the great coaches I had and I really want to listen to them.”