“First day of building to his 8th” - Pochettino says Lionel Messi ‘totally deserved’ to win 7th Ballon d'Or

Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that Lionel Messi 'totally deserves' to win his seventh Ballon d'Or on Monday. The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) boss is hopeful that the Argentine superstar is now on his way to eighth Golden Ball.

France Football announced Lionel Messi as the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or on Monday. The PSG superstar amassed 613 points, while runner-up Robert Lewandowski earned 580 points.

Despite Bayern Munich frontman Robert Lewandowski breaking Gerd Muller's long-standing goalscoring record in the Bundesliga last season, France Football deemed Messi worthy of the Ballon d'Or. The decision to hand the Argentina international the award was met with severe criticism from several quarters.

Bayern Munich legend Oliver Kahn and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp are among those who think Robert Lewandowski deserved to win the Ballon d'Or this time round. France Football has also been the subject of severe criticism on social media following Monday's ceremony.

PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino, though, believes Lionel Messi 'totally deserves' to win the Ballon d'Or. The Argentinean insisted that the 34-year-old is worthy of the award despite many fans and pundits being unhappy with the decision.

Mauricio Pochettino is also hopeful that Lionel Messi is now on his way to winning his eighth Ballon d'Or award with PSG. He said:

"Leo [Messi] totally deserves his Ballon d'Or. I can understand the criticism in some countries but he deserved it and now he has to take advantage of it. Hope we are on the first day of building to his 8th."

With Messi being 34-years-old, it remains to be seen if he can continue his dominance in the Ballon d'Or ceremony by winning the award again next year.

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Could Lionel Messi win his eighth Ballon d'Or?

PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino is hopeful of seeing Lionel Messi win his eighth Ballon d'Or next year. Will the 34-year-old forward be in contention for the award?

Lionel Messi won seven Ballon d'Or awards mainly for his performances with Barcelona and Argentina. The Argentine skipper, though, is currently with Ligue 1 giants PSG.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner swapped Barcelona for PSG in the summer. Since joining Mauricio Pochettino's side, Lionel Messi has scored four goals and provided three assists from 11 appearances across all competitions.

Lionel Messi will be hopeful of helping PSG win the Champions League trophy they have been eyeing for a long time. The 34-year-old will also be keen to shine for Argentina at the World Cup next year.

Should he continue to perform for PSG and Argentina, Messi could well win his eighth Ballon d'Or award next year.