Lionel Messi donates 8th Ballon d’Or trophy to Barcelona museum

Lionel Messi has donated his eighth Ballon d’Or trophy to the Barcelona museum, in an unexpected move from the Argentine forward. The player won the trophy for winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup with the Albiceleste and then going on to win the Ligue 1 title with PSG. He scored 21 goals and 20 assists for Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022–2023 season, and fended off competition from Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to win the Golden Ball for a record extending eighth time in his career. 

He was handed the award after he made his move to Inter Miami, and has hence sent the award back to the Barcelona museum. With the Blaugrana, he won six Ballon d’Or awards before claiming the sixth while at PSG and then going on to win his eighth this year. 

Lionel Messi donates 8th Ballon d’Or trophy to Barcelona museum 

Messi has won the Ballon d’or in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 before his move to PSG. And in all those years, he was the star player at Barcelona. He remains the top goalscorer in the history of the club. Here is a look at his stats for the Spanish giants: 

The 36-year-old was close to returning to Barcelona last year, after he left PSG upon the expiry of his contract. But, it just didn’t materialise due to Barcelona’s financial woes. They have been forced to lower their wage bill and comply with LaLiga’s strict financial rules. And even though Messi wanted to end his career with the Spanish giants, it just wasn’t possible to execute. 

Now, he is away from the pressure of delivering silverware and consistent success in Europe at Inter Miami. The Argentine has been reunited with his former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba at the club too.