“There may be a very beautiful rivalry” - Lionel Messi ignores Jude Bellingham as he names 4 players who will compete for Ballon d’Or

Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or award a record eight times. The last time he won it was in 2023, when he surpassed fellow superstars Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

The Argentine megastar believes Haaland and Mbappe will be in the Ballon d'Or conversation for many years, but this is not the case for Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham. Lionel Messi ignored the 20-year-old Englishman, as he named four players that he expects to see fighting for the Ballon d'Or going forward.

"The players to compete for the Ballon d'Or in the coming years? There may be a very beautiful rivalry in the coming years with players like Haaland, Mbappe, Vinicius and many young players competing for the Ballon d'Or. I also think that Lamine Yamal, who is still very young and now plays for Barcelona, will play a prominent role and fight for it in the future too," Messi said (via L'Equipe).

"Certainly there will be others competing for it, new players that we do not know will appear, because there are always new players, and I think it will be a very beautiful era to enjoy," he added.

It is unclear who the main candidates for the award will be, as we are heading into the season finale and summer's major national team tournaments. Jude Bellingham could be in that conversation, after having 20 goals and 11 assists in 31 games in his debut season with Los Blancos.

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Lionel Messi says he still has no plans to retire

Lionel Messi has accomplished everything in his illustrious career, and will turn 37 in June. He is now playing for Inter Miami in the MLS and is under contract with the club through 2025.

Still, he admitted that he hasn't thought about retirement and wants to continue to play. He said that the moment that he will be unable to play at the top level or help his teammates win, he will retire.

"The truth is I haven’t thought about it yet. Today, I try to enjoy it day-by-day, enjoy every moment without thinking about it more than that. I don’t have anything clear yet but to keep playing, which is what I’d like to do for a while longer. “If I feel good, I will always keep trying to compete because it’s what I like and what I know how to do," Lionel Messi said, via CNN.com.

Over his legendary career, he has won 10 La Liga and four Champions League titles with Barcelona, eight Ballon d’Or awards, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup with Argentina.