Argentina and Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career at the awards ceremony in Paris on Monday.

Karim Benzema won the award before Messi, 36, took it over. Messi won because of how well he played last season and how he led Argentina to victory at the World Cup.

Especially Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland gave Messi a lot of trouble, but it was his play in Qatar that helped his country win the game that made his career complete.

The final vote put Haaland in second place, Mbappe in third, and Kevin De Bruyne in fourth.

Messi scored seven goals at the World Cup, and after Argentina beat France on penalties in the final in Doha, he was named the tournament’s best player.

However, Messi, who won his first Ballon d’Or in 2009, also had a disappointing last season at Paris Saint-Germain before leaving to play in Major League Soccer for Inter Miami.

Mbappe, his old teammate at PSG, made his case with his amazing play at the World Cup, where he scored eight goals and scored a hat-trick in the final for France.

Haaland, a Norwegian striker, scored 52 goals in 53 games for Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City team, which won the English Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League.

As part of that City team, he and De Bruyne were nominated.

Photo by EPA/MOHAMMED BADRA