Fans are already excited about who will win the Ballon d'Or, one of football's most coveted awards. That thrill is also shared between competing footballers and their teammates. Argentine superstar Lionel Messi has won the Ballon 8 times. After a long time, for the first time, LMTEN, which is not on that list, has chosen its own candidate.

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A day earlier, Argentina's World Cup-winning coach Lionel Scaloni named the man who, in his opinion, deserves the upcoming Ballon d'Or. According to him, the biggest contender for this year's Ballon d'Or is Inter Milan's Albiceleste star Lautaro Martinez. Messi has walked the same path as the national team guru. He also thinks junior teammate Martinez deserves the Ballon this time.

Argentina and Bolivia met today (Wednesday) in a World Cup qualifier. Where the 37-year-old Messi scored a hat-trick on the way to a 6-0 victory over the world champions. Lautaro also scored a goal. All in all, this forward has had a great year. For the national team, he won the Copa America and Inter Milan in the Italian league 'Serie A'. The 27-year-old Lautaro also won the Golden Boot by scoring the maximum 5 goals in the Copa.

Considering these successes, Messi wants to see the ball in the hands of his teammate. In this regard, the Argentinian captain said, 'He had a great year, he scored in the final, he was also the top scorer in the Copa America. He deserves the Ballon d'Or more than anyone.'

Earlier, Scaloni put Lautaro ahead of getting the ball, saying, 'He is the biggest claimant above all others. I hope he gets it (Ballon d'Or). A boy whom I like very much. Lautaro has been with us since the beginning. Hope he wins it. Certainly not now, but in the future he will. He still has a great future ahead of him.'

The Ballon d'Or awards will end all speculation in Paris on October 28. For which Lautaro is on the shortlist, but the names of a few others are being discussed. There is Real's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. and Manchester City's Spanish midfielder Rodri. In addition, the names of Kylian Mbappe, who joined Real from PSG, and Man City's Norwegian star Arling Haaland are also being discussed.