The eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner, Lionel Messi, recently expressed strong support for his fellow Argentine, Lautaro Martinez, after Argentina\u2019s dominant victory over Bolivia. This comes amid speculation that Vinicius Junior could be the favorite to win the prestigious individual football award.<\/p>\n
On October 28, the successor to Lionel Messi for the Ballon d\u2019Or France Football will be revealed. For the first time, the suspense remains high, as the official winner will not be announced until the ceremony at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre du Ch\u00e2telet in Paris. As the event approaches, several prominent figures have shared their opinions on who should win. While players like Neymar and Ederson, among others, have voiced their support for Vinicius Junior, Messi and other Argentines have backed a different contender.<\/p>\n
No Ballon d\u2019Or for Vinicius Junior, according to Messi<\/p>\n
In addition to Argentina\u2019s coach Lionel Scaloni, who is firmly behind Lautaro Martinez following his impressive season with Inter Milan, Messi also hopes to see his teammate claim the 2024 Ballon d\u2019Or. After Argentina\u2019s 6-0 victory over Bolivia in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Messi shared his thoughts.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe had an incredible year, scored in the final, and was the top scorer of the Copa America. He deserves the Ballon d\u2019Or more than anyone else. I hope that Lautaro wins the Ballon d\u2019Or, he deserves it. If it doesn\u2019t happen this time, I\u2019m sure it will come for him in the future,\u201d Messi told TyC Sports.Messi\u2019s comments come despite many believing that Vinicius Junior, after an exceptional season with Real Madrid, is the clear favorite to win this year\u2019s award. Alongside Vinicius, names like Rodri, Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, and Jude Bellingham have also been mentioned, though Martinez has Messi\u2019s backing for the top honor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner, Lionel Messi, recently expressed strong support for his fellow Argentine, Lautaro Martinez, after Argentina\u2019s dominant victory over Bolivia. This comes amid speculation that Vinicius Junior could be the favorite to win the prestigious individual football award. On October 28, the successor to Lionel Messi for the Ballon d\u2019Or France Football […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":23263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n