Lionel Messi has now reached a record seventeen Ballon d’Or nominations after a fantastic twelve months with the teams he captains, Inter Miami and Argentina, respectively.
Messi played fifty-four matches for the teams mentioned with 47 goals scored and 31 goals provided throughout August 2025 to July 2026. With such a goal record, Messi received not only his second consecutive MLS MVP award but also Inter Miami’s first MLS Cup in December 2025 and has continued his impressive goal-scoring in the 2026 World Cup, where he scored eight goals and four assists to finish as runners-up.
With the argument of the 2026 Ballon d’Or yet to be won, even as Messi’s record ninth victory is still pending, legendary former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane still maintains he would win the award ahead of all contenders.
Zidane, having seen Messi on more than one occasion in El Clásico, explained: “I would vote for Messi 100 times,” as Zidane told Marca, mentioning his astonishment that he has managed to retain the form he possesses at the age of 39.
The award, however, is contested, particularly by former Scotland striker Ally McCoist, who said in response to Zidane: “The guy shouldn’t win this one”.
McCoist insisted that the award should be presented to either Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane or Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe; both are serious contenders and will look forward to their trip to the London Palladium in October for the Ballon d’Or ceremony.
