Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham has thrown his support behind Lionel Messi for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. This comes just a day after Messi scored his 100th goal for the Major League Soccer club.
Messi hit this milestone on Wednesday during Inter Miami’s 2-0 win over Cruz Azul in the Campeones Cup. He scored the first goal and also provided the corner kick that led to Casemiro’s headed goal for the second.
This win gave Miami their first Campeones Cup title. Messi is now the first player to net 100 goals for the club.
After the match, Beckham praised Messi's performances at the 2026 World Cup and his ability to keep playing well at 39 years old. He said, "When you see him do things like this, when you see him have the World Cup that he’s had, there is no one at 39 that’s doing that, and doing it at that level."
He added, "He deserves to be considered for the Ballon d’Or. In my opinion, he should win it," as reported by BBC.
Messi is one of the 30 players nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or. He has won the award eight times in the past.
During the last World Cup, Messi scored eight goals and provided four assists, helping Argentina reach the final, where they lost to Spain.
He also increased his total World Cup assists to 12, with 10 coming in knockout-stage matches. Messi is now second on the all-time World Cup goalscorers' list with 21 goals. He is just behind France’s Kylian Mbappe, who has 22 goals.
The 2026 Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place in London on October 26. Beckham, who played for England and co-owns Inter Miami, also noted how important it is for Messi to keep playing at such a high level at 39.
Beckham believes Messi deserves to be mentioned alongside other nominees like Harry Kane, Mbappe, and Jude Bellingham. Messi's latest achievement included a rare header against Cruz Azul in the 24th minute, putting Miami ahead.
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