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Lionel Messi has congratulated Argentine winners and nominees at the 2024 Ballon d'Or gala held at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on Monday (October 28). Emiliano Martinez received the Yacine Trophy and a Ballon d'Or nomination along with Lautaro Martinez. Alejandro Garnacho, meanwhile, was nominated for the Kopa Trophy. The night ended with Manchester City midfielder Rodri winning the Ballon d'Or.
Emiliano Martinez made history at Monday's gala by becoming the first goalkeeper in history to win two consecutive Yacine Trophies. In the 2023-24 season, he was crucial for Aston Villa, helping the club qualify for the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1984. He also won the Copa America 2024 with La Albiceleste.
Lautaro Martinez, meanwhile, registered 27 goals and seven assists in 44 games for Inter Milan across competitions last season. The Argentine helped I Nerazzurri win the Scudetto and also bagged the Copa America Golden Boot after scoring five goals for champions Argentina in the tournament.
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Finally, Alejandro Garnacho was nominated for the Kopa Trophy after developing himself as Manchester United's first-choice right-winger under Erik ten Hag.
Lionel Messi took to Instagram after the ceremony and lavished praise on the players, writing:
"Congratulations to all the winners and nominees of the Ballon d'Or 2024. Especially to Dibu (how great, another award as the best goalkeeper in the world!), Lautaro, Leo, and Ale. It is very nice to see them there!" (translated from Spanish to English via DeepL)
Since the beginning of his career, Lionel Messi has been a regular at the Ballon d'Or gala, winning the award a record eight times.
A look at the Ballon d'Or duopoly once established by Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are widely considered two of the greatest players to have ever graced the game. During their illustrious careers spanning over two decades, both have scored over 1700 goals (combined) for club and country and won a plethora of individual and team accolades.
Cristiano Ronaldo kickstarted their decade-long Ballon d'Or domination by winning his first award in 2008. The Portuguese superstar was instrumental to Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United which bagged the Premier League-UEFA Champions League double that year.
Lionel Messi followed it up by doing the seemingly impossible, i.e., winning four back-to-back Ballons d'Or between 2009 and 2012. During this time, Barcelona got their first treble (in the 2008-09 season) and won three straight LaLiga titles
Cristiano Ronaldo won the award in 2013 and 2014 before Lionel Messi reclaimed it in 2015. It made the Argentine the first person to win the award five times.
The Portuguese equaled the scores in the next two years (2016 and 2017) before Luka Modric broke the seemingly everlasting duopoly by winning the award in 2018. In the subsequent years, Messi pulled ahead for good by winning the award in 2019, 2021, and 2023.
Karim Benzema took the award home in 2022.
