All eyes are on Messi: will he secure his eighth Ballon d'Or?

Last year, Messi crowned his career by winning the World Cup with Argentina. The 36-year-old superstar subsequently became the champion of France with Paris Saint-Germain, but the fans in Paris would rather have seen him leave. At Inter Miami, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner feels like a fish in water again, although he missed a number of league matches in recent months due to a muscle injury.

Meanwhile, Erling Haaland has won everything there is to win with Manchester City and has been scoring goals consistently, but the Norwegian goal-scoring machine seems to have to postpone his first Ballon d'Or victory for at least another year. The same applies to Jude Bellingham, who has made a phenomenal start to his time at Real Madrid and is already being called the best player in the world at the moment by the Spanish media.

Apart from the Ballon d'Or, France Football will be awarding more prizes today. The Kopa Trophy, for which Xavi Simons is nominated, goes to the best player under the age of 21, and the Yashin Trophy goes to the best goalkeeper. There is also the Gerd Müller award, introduced last year, for the best striker of the past season. In the women's category, a Ballon d'Or is also awarded, with Jill Roord and Daphne van Domselaar being nominated.