How Lionel Messi won record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or

"Lionel Messi has shaken hands with paradise. The little boy from Rosario, Santa Fe, has just pitched up in heaven. He climbs into a galaxy of his own. He has his crowning moment and of course he is not alone."

Once Peter Drury had sunk deep into the most poetic of monologues after the Argentinian great had "conquered his final peak", it was curtains.

Success at a World Cup was the only blemish on Messi's otherwise pristine footballing CV. While so often his country's "point of difference", many even in his homeland regarded the little genius as unfit to lace a certain Diego Maradona's boots. For he had inspired Argentina to World Cup glory almost single-handedly (quite literally) in 1986.

It would take the most dramatic of World Cup finals and a penalty shootout, but Messi eventually reached Maradona's standing in the Gulf. His Qatari fairytale was the ultimate legacy securer, and his exploits on the grandest stage rendered Monday night's success an inevitability.

Here's how Messi won the 2023 Ballon d'Or.

Lionel Messi 2022/23 PSG record

We hadn't gotten use to the sight of Messi in anything but Barcelona colours by the time his two-year stint in the French capital drew to a close at the end of the 2022/23 season.

Messi was regarded as the final piece in the puzzle amid PSG's quest to finally claim Champions League glory. The Ligue 1 giants had come close on a couple of occasions since their Qatari investment, reaching the final in 2020 before losing to Bayern Munich.

However, the same problems arose even with the world's greatest added to the mix. Messi's numbers underwhelmed in his debut season, and although he produced a statistically stellar second season, PSG failed once again to get over the line in Europe. Messi notched eight Champions League goal contributions in seven games before Bayern knocked them out in the round of 16.

The Argentine also enjoyed notable individual success in Ligue 1 as he recorded 32 goal contributions in as many games. His 16 goals meant he finished as the league's tenth-highest scorer, but his 16 assists were a league-high as PSG won yet another league title. The 36-year-old also started the campaign by scoring in Les Parisiens' Trophee des Champions success over Nantes.

Lionel Messi 2022/23 Argentina record

While Messi's main rivals, particularly Haaland, had tremendous success at club level, Messi's brilliance for the national team catapulted him towards his eighth Ballon d'Or.

Argentina had built up a remarkable 36-game unbeaten run heading into the 2022 World Cup, and their skipper was in exceptionally good form ahead of the Qatari venture.

While the opposition was rarely stern, Messi nonetheless scored braces against Honduras and Jamaica before recording a goal and an assist in a 5-0 rout of the UAE just before the World Cup. Post-Qatar, Messi scored five times in comfortable wins over Panama, Curacao, and Australia. However, these exploits are, of course, not why he lifted his eighth Ballon d'Or on Monday night.

Lionel Messi at the 2022 World Cup

Oh, how it could've all been so different hadn't Mexico handed Argentina's talisman a yard of space on the edge of their box.

A stunning defeat to Saudi Arabia on Matchday 1 rendered Argentina's second group encounter against Mexico a must-win, but the "magic man" delivered when his country needed him most. Messi's pinpoint strike from range was the relief Lionel Scaloni and company desperately needed.

From that moment on, there was a feeling of inevitability over how the rest of the tournament would play out. This was Messi and Argentina's time. For every comfortable victory, an all-time classic ensued.

Messi scored five goals in Argentina's four knockout games and converted two penalties in two critical shootouts, as the 36-year-old's mesmeric campaign fittingly concluded with his country downing the holders France in arguably the greatest World Cup final ever. Despite Mbappe's hat-trick heroics, it was Messi's team that held their nerve from 12 yards.

Gonzalo Montiel scored the crucial spot-kick as Messi guided Argentina to their first World Cup triumph since Maradona's boys of '86. Messi ended the tournament with seven goals and three assists as well as five Man of the Match awards as he won the Golden Ball.

He played every minute of Argentina's successful campaign, and it was his work on football's grandest stage which thrust him towards his record eighth Ballon d'Or.

READ THE 2023 BALLON D'OR RANKINGS IN FULL & OTHER AWARD WINS