Lionel Messi has been the best soccer player in the world for quite some time now, and he's proven over the past year or so that he still is at the top of his game. Messi led his native Argentina to a World Cup victory in 2022, and racked up an impressive 21 goals and 20 assists in all competitions with PSG before finding his way to the MLS with Inter Miami.

As a result of Messi's continued strong play for Inter Miami, where he has dominated so far, he was viewed as the front runner for the 2023 Ballon d'Or, which is given to the best soccer player in the world for that given year. And reports have begun to emerge saying that Messi will in fact win the eighth Ballon d'Or of his career, which will extend his record for the most Ballon d'Or's a player has won throughout their career.

Immediately after joining Inter Miami, Messi destroyed the competition in the Leagues Cup, and helped lead the club to their first ever trophy by winning the tournament. Messi has been battling some injuries as of late, but when he's been on the field, he's easily been the best player in the MLS, and it hasn't been particularly close.

Messi is coming off one of the most accomplished seasons of his career, and he has shown no signs of slowing down as he moves to the MLS. This would already be a historic Ballon d'Or for Messi, but as he continues to dominate at every level he plays it, it may not even be the last one he adds to his tally before he opts to call it a career.