David Beckham is “proud” of Lionel Messi after he achieved new milestone with Inter Miami.
On Wednesday night's 2026 Michelob ULTRA Campeones Cup victory over Cruz Azul is not technically part of Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or campaign, Inter Miami CF owner David Beckham still used the opportunity to make his case for the Argentine icon.
Beckham, a former world-class player in his own right who has won plenty of accolades himself throughout an illustrious career, knows what it means to be the best player in the world.
And in his mind, there's no question who that was for the past year.
"I think when you see him do things like this tonight, when you see him have the World Cup that he's had, it's not luck that he's being considered for the Ballon d'Or again," Beckham said on Apple TV. "It's not luck because he was probably the best player in the tournament. He had an incredible year last year.
"He came into that tournament in the World Cup, and like you've just said, 39 years old, to affect a World Cup and every game the way he did. That's special. There's no one at 39 that's doing that and doing it at that level. So he deserves to be considered for the Ballon d'Or. He, in my opinion, he should win it.
"You've got great players there like Harry Kane, like Kylian [Mbappé], like Jude Bellingham and other players there, but you know when you're talking about Leo, I'm his biggest supporter."
Messi has already been awarded the Ballon d'Or a record eight times throughout his unparalleled career, but there's no doubt why Beckham believes that record should be extended to nine following Messi's 17th nomination for the award last week.
