Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career, and Barcelona and PSG (the Argentinian’s former clubs) reacted on social media to the gala concert held at the Chatelet Theater (Paris).

Barcelona fans in Messi shirtsPhoto: Urbanandsport/NurPhoto / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia

>> VIDEO Lionel Messi won the 8th Ballon d’Or.

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Lionel Messi is ‘GOAT’ for Barcelona – Argentinian just moved to PSG

Lionel Messi spent 21 years at Barcelona, ​​and the Catalan club considers the Argentine GOAT (the best football player in history).

“The greatest ever has done it again. Eight golden balls. eight! All of Barcelona is proud of you, Lionel Messi.” FC Barcelona said in a statement.

On the other hand, PSG (the team for which the Argentine played in the period 2021-2023) sent a message through the president Nasser Al-Khelaifi. He pushed Messi to the background and focused on Kylian Mbappe and Randal Kolo Muani.

“The Ballon d’Or honors the best players from around the world. We are very proud that two players who were at PSG last season are on the podium, which shows the value of Leo and Kylian.

We are also delighted that Randal (Kolo Mouani), a player who joined us in the summer, has been judged on his merits, it shows that the standard of excellence is maintained at Paris Saint-Germain year after year” – Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of the PSG club.

Lionel Messi was the backbone of Argentina’s national team, scoring 7 goals and providing 3 assists at the World Cup in Qatar.

In the 2022/23 season, the Argentine scored 20 goals and provided 20 assists for PSG in all competitions, winning the Ligue 1 championship and the French Cup.

Leo Messi spent most of his career in “Barcelona” and now plays for the American “Inter Miami”. He previously won the trophy for the best football player in the world in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021, followed by Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo who won the Ballon d’Or five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 , 2017).

Lionel Messi became the first player from a club outside of Europe to win the award. One of the shareholders of Inter Miami, David Beckham, presented the prestigious trophy to Messi.

>> VIDEO. The football player was booed during the presentation of the award at the gala concert “Golden Ball-2023”