Real Madrid's France star Karim Benzema, according to seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi, deserves to win the prize.
Benzema was instrumental in Real Madrid's Champions League victory this season, which featured a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in Paris on Saturday.
Back-to-back hat-tricks by Benzema in the knockout rounds, starting with a 17-minute treble against Messi's Paris Saint-Germain to erase a 2-0 aggregate deficit, were crucial in generating the momentum that propelled the Spaniards to triumph.
Messi told Argentina's Sports, "Benzema had a tremendous year and ended it by winning the Champions League."
"He was important in every match from the last-16 onwards, and I believe there is no doubt" that Benzema is deserving of the Ballon d'Or.
Messi made the comments just days before the two continental champions met in a friendly match at Wembley Stadium.
The "Finalissima" is a battle between South American Copa America champions and European champions from Europe, where many Argentines had ancestors.
Argentina, on the other hand, breezed through qualifying for the Qatar World Cup with several games to spare, while Italy was ruled out after losing in a play-off to underdogs North Macedonia.
"Given Italy's World Cup history, what happened when they won the Euros but didn't qualify for the World Cup is ludicrous," he said.
"Italy would have been a great contender in the World Cup if they had competed." It's a pity for them. "No one in their right mind would want to be in command of them."
Before joining PSG a year ago, the 34-year-old spent his entire career at Barcelona, where he has struggled to match his best form.
He described the move as "difficult" and said he was "sobbing" the first day he drove his children to school in Paris.
After acquiring the illness towards the end of 2021, Messi believes it has left "scars" in his lungs, and he confesses the Champions League defeat to Real was "a painful blow."
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