
Lionel Messi added another notch to his legend on Monday, winning the Ballon d'Or as the world's best soccer player for a record eighth time. The women's award went to Spain's Aitana Bonmatí.
Both of the Ballon d'Or winners are midfielders who led their national teams to World Cup titles: Messi took Argentina to the top in Qatar in late 2022, and Bonmatí did the same for Spain's women's team in Australia this past summer.