The 2023 Ballon d'Or: Shiny Soccer Awards!

The Ballon d'Or is like a super-duper award for the best soccer players in the whole world! It's given out every year by a magazine called France Football. In 2023, it was the 67th time they had this fancy party. They look at how great players did from August 2022 to July 2023. It's like getting a gold star for being the best at playing soccer!

Guess who won the big award for the boys? It was Lionel Messi, and this was his EIGHTH time winning it! Wow! He helped his team, Argentina, win the big World Cup soccer game. He's so good that he's won the award even when playing for different teams in different countries. That's like winning a prize for being the best at building with LEGOs, no matter which box of LEGOs you use!

For the girls, a fantastic player named Aitana Bonmatí won her very first Ballon d'Or! She was amazing for her team, FC Barcelona, and also helped Spain win the Women's World Cup. It's like winning the best prize at school for both your soccer team and your country's team. She's a true soccer superstar!

There were other cool awards too! Jude Bellingham got the Kopa Trophy for being the best young player. Erling Haaland won the Gerd Müller Trophy for scoring lots of goals. And Manchester City was named the best boys' soccer club for the second year in a row! It was a night full of celebrating amazing soccer talent.