Al-Khelafi lauds Messi, Mbappe after Ballon d’Or feat

Paris Saint-Germain Chairman and Ceo Nasser Al-Khelafi has lauded Argentine legend Lionel Messi and French forward Kylian Mbappe following their placement on the Ballon d’Or podium.

Messi won the Ballon d’Or award for a record extending eighth time on Monday, October 30 at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris.

The 36 year old had a stellar year for club and country winning the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar with his native Argentina.

He scored seven goals and made three assists at the competition to emerge the best player of the tournament.

Messi also won the French Ligue 1 with Paris Saint-Germain and scooped the French League playmaker of the season award with a league high 16 assists.

He moved to Major League Soccer (MLS) club Inter Miami in the last summer transfer window.

Mbappe came third in the award rankings behind Messi and Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.

Mbappe scored eight goals and provided two assists to win the golden boot at 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar winning the runners-up medal in the process.

He also won the French League golden boot with a chart topping 29 goals.

Paris Saint-Germain posted Al-Khelafi’s reaction to the players’ remarkable accolades on their X (formerly known as Twitter) handle.

“The Ballon d’Or celebrates the greatest players around the world,” Al-Khelafi said.

"We are very proud that two of our PSG 2022/23 players are on the podium, reflecting the genius of Leo and Kylian. We are also delighted to see our summer recruit Randal recognized demonstrating the standards of excellence maintained at Paris Saint-Germain year after year.”

Argentina have clinched the coveted FIFA World Cup title thrice (Argentina 1978, Mexico 1986 and Qatar 2022).

France have won the World Cup two times (France 1998 and Russia 2018).

Messi has scored 13 goals in 26 matches overall at the World Cup while Mbappe has 12 World Cup goals in 14 matches.

The Inter Miami forward has scored 106 goals and notched 53 assists for Argentina.

Mbappe has gotten 43 goals and 26 assists in 73 appearances for France