Manchester City have clinched the best men’s team award at the Ballon d’Or following their treble winning season.
At the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday night, Lionel Messi has clinched his eighth Ballon d’Or title, winning the men’s award at the 2023 ceremony.
The Argentine picked up the accolade for the eighth time in his career after a wonderful World Cup campaign with his national side at the end of 2022.
Individual accolades aside, Pep Guardiola‘s clinched their own esteemed award after their dominance across Europe and the Premier League last season.
While the Spanish manager was not in attendance to accept the award, several members of the squad, who have also been included as nominees for the best men’s award, were there to accept the award.
Manchester City claimed the best men’s team at the 2023 Ballon d’Or awards ceremony
City swept up on the night, with Erling Haaland clinching the best striker award too
Barcelona also won the best women’s team award, with Patricia Guijarro, club president Joan Laporta and Jonatan Giraldez accepting the award
Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez, Erling Haaland, Ederson and Ruben Dias were all in attendance at the awards ceremony.
Accepting the award, the club’s CEO, Ferran Soriano, said: ‘We are very proud. Every body at Manchester City are very proud. We enjoyed a very good season. But this is not the product of one season.
‘We are here because of these extraordinary players and our coaches and football director. But behind there is a lot of people working behind the scenes. And it’s a decade of work.
On the evening, Bernardo Silva added: ‘The five players in the top 10 [shows] a sign of the work that all of us together have been doing is great. We have the motivation to keep pushing ourselves to be better.’
It came just before Haaland claimed the Gerd Muller Trophy for Best Striker, with Gary Lineker presenting the Man City forward the award.
Barcelona women’s team were recognised as the women’s team-of-the-year, with president Joan Laporta receiving the award on behalf of the club alongside midfielder Patricia Guijarro.
It came after an exceptional season where the women’s side won their second Champions League title in the space of three years, having also clinched their fourth successive Liga F title too.
Jonatan Giráldez’s side have enjoyed a truly dominant few years in their domestic league, winning 62 league games on the bounce, a run which started June 6, 2021.
The team have enjoyed a successful season winning the Champions League and Liga F titles