Messi says Benzema was “a fair winner” of the Ballon d’Or and is “a marvellous player”

On October 30, the celebration of the Ballon d’Or will take place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, in which Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland will undoubtedly be the two favourites to take home the prize for the best footballer of the 2022-23 season.

Ahead of the award, French newspaper L’Équipe shared a mini-documentary in which the 2022 ceremony was the focus as Karim Benzema scooped up the prestigious prize.

Messi says Benzema Ballon d’Or is ‘important for him and for football’

In the documentary, Lionel Messi spoke about the current striker for Al Ittihad, in which he was said that the Frenchman was the worthy winner for the amazing season he had at Real Madrid in which he won the UEFA Champions League. “I think Benzema was the fair winner”, he said, “he deserves it for the great year he has had and what he has done throughout his career.”

“He is a marvellous player and I think the fact that he has this as recognition of that is important for him and for football”, Messi said.

Who are the favourites to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or?

Various bookmakers currently have Messi at the top of the odds, with the Argentine given up to a 76% chance of winning the award after sealing the World Cup with Argentina at the end of 2022 as well as winning Leagues Cup for Inter Miami, their first ever trophy, and consistently showing his class in MLS and with PSG prior to that.

As for Haaland, who is the strong competitor for Messi, most bookmakers give him a 19% chance of claiming the individual award. Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City side last season as the team romped to an historic treble, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, something that had only previously been done in England by Manchester United.

Behind the two standout names are players such as Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri and Kylian Mbappé, although they have a significantly lower chance that Messi and Haaland.