The highs and lows of the 2023 Ballon d'Or gala

The most controversial Ballon d'Or Gala was also one of the most hotly anticipated in recent years – although its result was similar to that of seven previous years.

Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d'Or and was crowned, at the awards level, as the best footballer in history. He is followed, by a considerable distance now, by Cristiano Ronaldo with five Ballon d'Ors.

The World Cup in Argentina and an acceptable season in Ligue 1 were seemingly enough for Messi to take the award, ahead of Haaland and Mbappe.

The Manchester City forward won the Champions League and the Premier League, being the top scorer in both and breaking all scoring records. Despite everything, he had to settle for the Gerd Müller Trophy for the best striker of the season.

For his part, Kylian Mbappe continues to see the years go and the Ballon d'Ors pass him by. With a long face all night, the Frenchman saw how his spectacular season only earned him third place in the award.

The Frenchman was the top scorer in Ligue 1 and the World Cup, with a hat trick in the final – although France would lose on penalties. Despite his numbers, his former partner has taken the award from him.

On the women's side, Aitana Bonmatí has taken over from Alexia Putellas and has won her first Ballon d'Or, after a season in which she has won everything with Barcelona and the Spanish National Team, including the World Cup.

Spain has now claimed the last three Ballon d'Ors in this category with Putellas claiming the previous two. By the way, Novak Djokovic had little to do at the Theater du Chatelet in Paris, but his image handing over the Ballon d'Or to Aitana Bonmatí was one of the most powerful things of the evening.

One of the complicated images of the night was the booing of Dibu Martínez, when he collected the Yashin Award for best goalkeeper. His gesture after collecting the Golden Glove in Qatar will haunt him for the rest of his life.

Quite the opposite happened with Jude Bellingham, one of the most acclaimed players and recipient of the Kopa Award, which honors the best young footballer of the year.

Eden Hazard, who recently announced his retirement from football, was in charge of presenting the award to Bellingham and Madrid fans couldn't help but think, what would have happened if they had been able to pair Hazard in his prime with this young Bellingham.

Meanwhile, Vinicius Jr. collected the Socrates Trophy, for his social and humanitarian work in Rio de Janeiro, focused on the education of children in his hometown.

As usual, Didier Drogba and Sandy Heribert were the presenters of the gala. Their chemistry is tremendous.

Leo Messi came with his inseparable Antonella Roccuzzo and their three children. David Beckham, President of Football Operations and co-owner of Inter Miami, also attended to support his franchise player.

Inter Milan forward, Lautaro Martínez, attended with his partner Agustina Gandolfo.

Erling Haaland was also at the gala accompanied by his girlfriend, Isabel Johansen.

Bernardo Silva, one of Manchester City's stars, attended with his wife, influencer Ines Tomaz.

Julián Álvarez, another of the great figures of City and Argentina in the World Cup, was accompanied by María Emilia Ferrero to the gala.

YouTuber Darren Jason Watkins Jr, known as 'IShowSpeed' attended the gala and garnered more than his fair share of attention.

Djibril Cissé also got some looks. The former French footballer is still in top shape and dared with an alternative look that caused a sensation on social networks. He was always a trendsetter.