Lionel Messi remains the king of the Ballon d’Or with a record-breaking eight wins, but the Argentine legend has admitted that another star from his country also deserved the famous golden ball.

With the 2025 Ballon d’Or ceremony set to take place in Paris on Monday, fans are buzzing about who will be crowned the best player in the world this year. Messi, however, shifted the spotlight to his teammate Lautaro Martínez. He praised him for a brilliant run of form in recent seasons.

According to Messi, Lautaro’s performances for Inter Milan and the Argentina national team have been nothing short of outstanding. He led Inter to glory in Serie A, delivered goals on the biggest stages, and even finished as the top scorer in the Copa America. For Messi, those achievements were enough to put his name on the Ballon d’Or list.

Despite that, Martínez has often been overlooked when the final votes are counted. In one of his best seasons, he only managed a seventh-place finish while other names like Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland dominated the headlines. Messi made it clear that his fellow Argentine “deserved the Ballon d’Or more than anyone else” for that campaign.