Javier Zanetti picks his 2023 Ballon d'Or winnerÂ
Inter Milan legend Javier Zanetti has backed Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d'Or this year. On the other hand, he picked Pep Guardiola as his best coach of the season, along with Carlo Ancelotti and Luciano Spalletti.
While talking to PlanetWin365, Zanetti was asked to name his Ballon d'Or pick for this year. He did not hesitate and went ahead with Messi for his exceptional performance at the FIFA World Cup.
The Argentine added that the new Inter Miami signing has been the best player for several years and said:
"I think Messi deserves it because he managed to fulfil his dream of winning the World Cup as an absolute protagonist. In my opinion, he's been the best for several years."
When asked about the best manager of the year, Zanetti named Guardiola as his pick for winning the European treble with Manchester City. The Spaniard led the Cityzens to the Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup - making them only the second English team in history to accomplish the feat. He said:
"Pep Guardiola managed to win the Treble despite a Champions League Final in which Simone Inzaghi was very good at a tactical level. Then Carlo Ancelotti, always very wise and quiet, and Luciano Spalletti for what he did with Napoli."
Ancelotti was not at his best last season but still won the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid, while Spalletti helped Napoli win the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years.
Lionel Messi not interested in Ballon d'Or anymore
Lionel Messi has stated that he is no longer interested in Ballon d'Or awards as he has now won the FIFA World Cup. He claimed that he was never chasing individual awards and the hunger has gone down drastically after the historical win in Qatar last year.
He told Titan Sport:
"Does the Ballon d'Or matter to me? No, it's no longer important to me. I've always said, the individual prizes are not what matters to me, but the collective ones are the most important. The most important prize at the moment is the World Cup, the greatest prize for me."
Lionel Messi is expected to win the Ballon d'Or, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe his chief competitors. Both the young forwards had tremendous individual seasons, but the World Cup triumph could tilt the voting in the Argentine's favor.