Soccer
Will a World Cup win put Messi on course for another Ballon d'Or?
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Tonight's World Cup final will bring down the curtain on Lionel Messi's tournament career, and possibly his international career, too, with one final dance in football's biggest game.
It could be the perfect ending for the Argentine icon, as he leads the South Americans to becoming the first nation to win back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1962.
However, if that's how things play out in New York, it might not be the last piece of gold that Messi is holding in 2026, because, as well as winning the big one - as well as the Golden Boot, too - his performances in North America have put him right back into a conversation he's made his own in the last decade. A conversation around 2026's Ballon d'Or.
Lionel Messi’s greatest World Cup moments
Golden balls
The fascination around the winner of the Ballon d'Or is very much a modern football phenomenon.
The award has been around since 1956, when Stanley Matthews became the inaugural winner, but only in the past two decades has it become football's highest barometer in the eyes of fans and the media.
That's partly down to the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo throughout the 2010s, when the Ballon d'Or was seen as the ultimate justification of who had had the better year and who was currently the best player in the world.
From 2008 to 2021, the award was won by either of the two footballing legends, with only Luka Modric's brief interruption after the 2018 World Cup, and it's Messi who dominated.
He has won the award a record eight times during his career, with the last coming in 2023, after he led his country to World Cup glory in Qatar.
Yet, that was perceived to be his last. Having moved to the MLS, it was hard to see him being considered 'the best in the world' with Rodri and Ousmane Dembele taking the award home in the two years since.
But then comes this summer, and another World Cup stage.
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Here we go again
Going into the finals, the two leading contenders for the big shiny ball were Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane, and there was a general feeling that if one or the other had a standout tournament and even won the competition, the Ballon d'Or would follow.
And to be fair, they've given it a good go. Some managerial disputes may have marred Mbappe's Madrid season, but he still top-scored in La Liga and, during the World Cup, became France's record goalscorer and was one of the stars of the tournament with his eight goals and two assists.
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Harry Kane, on the other hand, has had arguably his best-ever season. 72 goals for club and country, and a league and cup winner in Germany, the England captain continued that form into the finals and notched six times for the Three Lions before Wednesday's heartbreaking exit.
With neither making the final, it would appear to still be a close run thing, but what no one bargained for is Messi doing Messi things one more time.
Of course, the Ballon d'Or should be an award where everything is taken into consideration across a calendar year, but it's no secret that in a World Cup year, it has a huge bearing on the outcome, and Messi's performances have suddenly brought his name back to the top of the list.
One more time
Eight goals and four assists just begin to tell you the story of the 39-year-old's displays in the past few weeks Stateside.
He began with a hat-trick against Austria and has since put in display after display that proves why he is seen as the greatest footballer of all time, all at a tournament where he was expected to wind down and enjoy his swansong.
Instead, it's been Messi who has been shining brightest once again. The way he switched positions 2-0 down against Egypt to lead the charge back into the game was masterful, and his influence on Argentina's job on England in Wednesday's semi-final was key to Lionel Scaloni's side coming back and proving why they are world champions.
Charlotte Wilson/Getty Images
Now he'll get to put the biggest cherry on top of the cake on Sunday, if he can captain Argentina to back-to-back World Cup wins, making his legacy untouchable.
Then, in doing so, it surely guarantees a final Ballon d'Or for the great man. An award that would be just if he does lift the famous trophy once again, but also a final tribute to a phemon the like we'll never see again.
It may feel harsh to those who have starred in Europe's elite leagues like Kane and Mbappe, but it's hard to deny how Messi has once again made football's biggest stage his playground one final triumphant time.
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