Lionel Messi wins the 8th Ballon d'Or and Vinicius Júnior is awarded for social actions in football

Lionel Messi receives the Ballon d'Or for the 8th time

Star Lionel Messi, who at the end of last year helped his country's team win the World Cup in Qatar, received, this Monday (30), the Ballon d'Or for the smallest player in the world. This was the eighth opportunity in which the Argentine won the prestigious award from France Football magazine.

“Thank you everyone, especially my teammates. Thank you to everyone who voted for me. This Ballon d'Or is a great gift for all of Argentina”, declared the Inter Miami (United States) striker.

Award for Vinicius Júnior

The Brazilian highlight at the awards was Vinicius Júnior. The striker from Real Madrid (Spain) and the Brazilian team received the Sócrates Award, which aims to honor solidarity actions promoted by personalities from the world of football. This honor was granted to him due to the work of the Vini Jr Institute, which uses football as a tool for educating children and adolescents, in addition to training teachers in anti-racist pedagogical practices.

“I am very happy to receive this award, to be able to help so many children in Brazil and in my neighborhood […]. I'm very happy to be able to help them. It’s a very special dream to be here with all of you”, declared the Brazilian player.

Best team

Manchester City (England), winner of the English Championship, FA Cup and Champions League last season, was named the best team of the year. “Everything we achieved is a dream come true […]. It was a season in which we turned our dreams into reality”, said Spanish midfielder Rodri. The female version of the award went to Barcelona.

Englishman Jude Bellingham, current Real Madrid star, won the award for best under-21 player for his time at Borussia Dortmund (Germany).

* With information from the Reuters news agency.