The name Lionel Messi was etched in the history of soccer forever after his 8th Ballon d’Or award. Despite the historic win, many have backed the Inter Miami star to go again for his 9th award. However, his latest response would have surely saddened the fanbase. Amid the new partnership between UEFA and the Ballon d’Or, to likely rival FIFA The Best Awards, the Argentine soccer veteran has ruled himself out of next year’s race.

From the looks of it, the Argentine will seemingly now look to enjoy his soccer at Inter Miami. While the spotlight will continue to remain on him, the icon will surely be free of the pressure of participating in Europe.

Lionel Messi walks away from possibility of a 9th Ballon d’Or triumph

UEFA recently announced its partnership with France Football to host the next Ballon d’Or ceremony. Without a doubt, it would have been interesting to see Lionel Messi compete for the award again as an Inter Miami player. However, the Argentine has rejected the possibility immediately of striving to win the prestigious individual accolade again.

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Lionel Messi after winning his trophy in Paris said to ESPN Argentina, “This is going to be my last Ballon d’Or”. It looks like the Argentinian is now focused on helping Inter Miami and Argentina win trophies. During another conversation with the media, he also made a mention of aiming to spend more time with his family. It certainly looks like the Inter Miami star will not compete for the Ballon d’Or. So, the big question now is which players have the highest possibility to win the prestigious trophy next year?

Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe lead the race for the Ballon d’Or race for next year

The soccer universe is backing the likes of Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham, and Kylian Mbappe for the prestigious trophy next year. Haaland and Mbappe have continued their brilliant goal-scoring form for their respective clubs. Whereas, Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is also scoring goals for fun. He has almost scored the same amount of goals as Mbappe and Haaland despite playing as a midfielder.

Hence, if the goalscoring form of the three continues, the decision-makers will have to interestingly make their choice based on the number of trophies the player wins. All of them are focusing on different competitions to win for their respective club. However, the main target for all of them remains to win the UEFA Champions League. The trophy could likely become more important to excel in the Ballon d’Or race after the new partnership.

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So the big question is, ‘who will maintain their form and lift the Ballon d’Or trophy next year to end Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo‘s dominance in Europe? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.