Fans are only just realising what Ballon d'Or means ahead of 2023 awards ceremony

Fans are only just realising what Ballon d’Or means ahead of this year’s ceremony.

On Monday night in Paris, France, the Ballon d’Or will be handed out for the 67th time.

Last year, the prestigious trophy was given to Frenchman Karim Benzema after a stellar season with Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid.

This year, it is expected that Argentina legend Lionel Messi will pick up his record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or trophy.

Ahead of the ceremony, fans are only just realising the meaning of Ballon d’Or.

The words ‘Ballon d’Or’ are French and when translated to English, it reads ‘Golden Ball’.

Heading into the ceremony, France's football legend Thierry Henry has explained why Messi deserves to win the award after a wonderful year that included winning the World Cup in Qatar.

He said to CBS Sports: “I mean a lot of people can debate that but for me if you win the World Cup, the way he did it, we can talk about what happened in the final.

“As a Frenchman, I was a little bit disappointed with how it finished but you can’t say that it isn’t deserved if he wins it.”

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The former Arsenal forward said: “A lot of people can claim that Man City players, Haaland and some other players can also say ‘why not me?’ but you can’t say that it’s not right if he wins it.

“You have the history at times where I’m thinking about Lewandowski, they decided to say there will not be a Ballon d’Or but there was football. Why was the guy not allowed to win his Ballon d’Or?”

Fellow pundit Jamie Carragher asked Henry: “Who do you think deserves to win it?”

Henry replied: “For me, Messi. Bye. Over.”

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