Not Mbappe or Haaland, this is the public factor ready to ‘steal’ Lionel Messi’s Golden Ball title!

After receiving the 8th Golden Ball title in his career , Lionel Messi gave an emotional speech. Immediately afterwards, the host of the awards ceremony, Didier Drogba, invited the three Messi children to come on stage to celebrate with their father.

Notably, one of the three boys, Mateo Messi, did not forget to be humorous when he snatched the Golden Ball from Lionel Messi’s hand. However, the second Messi family immediately handed it over to his father.

Mateo Messi took the Golden Ball title from his father. Source: Getty

When Lionel Messi won the 8th title in his great career, the least happy person was probably Mateo because everyone knew that he was a genuine fan of his father’s rival – Cristiano Ronaldo. Many times El Pulga had to “laugh and cry” when his son scolded him after each loss.

But now, Mateo Messi can only watch helplessly as his father surpasses Ronaldo in the number of Golden Ball titles. CR7 has received this honor 5 times and there is a high possibility that there will be no more opportunities to equalize the gap. Unfortunately, this may also be the last time fans will see Lionel Messi receive the Golden Ball award, ending the 15-year era between Ronaldo and Messi.

The two-horse race between Ronaldo and Messi has lasted for the past 15 years. Source: Getty

There is no doubt that the future Golden Ball race will belong to Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland . However, don’t forget that Kopa award winner Jude Bellingham also proved to be very “competitive” compared to his two seniors after a series of impressive performances in the Real Madrid shirt.