Lionel Messi won the France Football’s Ballon d’Or award for the eighth time, becoming the only player to mount such numbers in history.
Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, was ignored by the Nigerian representative in the Ballon d’Or voting process, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 24-year-old Napoli striker was nominated for one of football’s biggest individual awards after helping Napoli to a league title win for the first time in over thirty years.
The Nigerian scored twenty-six league goals and set up another four for his teammates in the league, helping himself to the Serie A Golden Boot award, and also helping his team to a quarter-final place in last season’s UEFA Champions League competition.
Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-German player, Leo Messi, won the award for the eighth time in his career, after a season that saw him win the French Ligue 1, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina.
Erling Haaland was a close second, after scoring the most goals in Europe last term and winning a treble with Pep Guardiola’s incredible Manchester City side.
Osimhen was ranked 8th, becoming the first-ever Nigerian to be included in the top ten footballers in the world, breaking Nwankwo Kanu’s record, where he was in 11th position, twenty-six years ago.
The winner of the award is usually decided by votes from media representatives from the top hundred countries from the FIFA men’s world ranking, with each nation barring a representative.
In the results released by Fabrizio Romano, the Nigerian representative opted to vote for Lionel Messi, rather than his countryman, Victor Osimhen.
Messi amassed most of the votes, ending up with 462 points, with Erling Haaland coming in second place, a hundred and five points behind arguably, the greatest footballer the planet has ever seen.
On the continent, Osimhen has been nominated for the CAF Footballer of the Year award, and the eventual winner will be awarded on the 11th of December, 2023 in Marrakech, Morrocco.
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The Nigerian represent knew Osimhen wasn't going to win anyways,better join the winning side, ain't one tired of losing out on all fronts?
That's how we always sell ourselves short in Nigeria,we keep stealing from ourselves,we've almost stolen ourselves blind! How can a nation perpetrate intellectual, economic & political theft against itself & still survive?
I overheard Babatunde Gbadamosi advising those in diaspora the other day not to invest in Nigeria,said it was too risky. Maybe it was also too risky for the Nigerian representative to vote for Osimhen knowing full well the he won't make it! If you can't beat 'em, join 'em!
its really bad to know that your own people will not vote you in...that was sell out...even if Leo messi will not win,I'm very sure all argentine representatives will surely vote for him..this is one of the biggest problems in Africa especially Nigeria. how on earth can you forsake your own...evil people with self centered reasoning. I'm not surprised but proud of Victor. keep doing you brother your fans are always proud of you...much