Messi and his emotional dedication to Maradona in the Ballon d'Or: "Wherever you are, happy birthday."

Emocionado como pocas veces se le ha visto, Lionel Messi utilizó una dedicatoria especial a Diego Armando Maradona tras ganar por octava vez el Balón de Oro.

Watch here what happened in Paris. "Happy birthday, Diego Maradona. This Ballon d'Or is also for you," said the 10 of the 'Albiceleste'.

Messi, world champion with the Albiceleste in Qatar-2022 last December, was named winner of the Ballon d'Or for the eighth time in his career, surpassing Norwegian Erling Haaland and Frenchman Kylian Mbappé, this Monday in a ceremony held in Paris.

Messi, 36, and current player for Inter Miami, did not have his best season with Paris Saint-Germain in 2022-2023, but the World Cup won after defeating France in the final opened the doors for him to win an eighth individual award, a distinction in which he succeeds Frenchman Karim Benzema and enlarges his legend in the history of football.

After 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019 with Barcelona, and 2021 when he was already wearing the colors of Paris Saint-Germain, Messi added one more line to his list of personal successes.

The Argentine star, current player for Inter Miami, was rewarded at the gala for his World Cup title with Argentina in Qatar-2022, the third in the history of the Albiceleste and the first for Messi, who lifted a trophy that obsessed him and had eluded him.

"I want to thank all my teammates from the national team. This award comes from what we achieved with the Argentine national team. This is a gift for the whole group of Argentina," Messi said on stage, after receiving the trophy from former English footballer David Beckham, owner and executive of Inter Miami.

In the final in Lusail, Argentina defeated France, represented by Kylian Mbappé, who was then Messi's PSG teammate and was present in the theater of Châtelet on Monday.

Mbappé finished third in the voting for this edition of the Ballon d'Or, and second was Norwegian Erling Haaland, who scored 56 goals in the previous season, which earned him the Gerd Müller Award for the best scorer of the past season in Monday's ceremony.

Messi wanted to remember the Argentine legend Diego Maradona, who passed away in November 2020 and would have turned 63 on Monday.

"There is no better place to wish you a happy birthday. Happy birthday, Diego. This is for you and for Argentina," he said.

After his speech, his three children (Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro) went on stage, while the footballer's wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, applauded from her seat.