Lionel Messi was crowned Ballon d’Or winner for a record eighth time after leading Argentina to World Cup glory. The 36-year-old scored twice in the final as Argentina saw off France to win the tournament for the first time in his illustrious career. Messi has since moved to Inter Miami having left Paris St Germain at the end of last season – but it was his imperious form for his country in Qatar which saw him crowned Ballon d’Or winner by France Football once again. Meanwhile, Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati won the women’s Ballon d’Or following a trophy-laden campaign for the 25-year-old. Messi beat Manchester City’s hot-shot striker Erling Haaland into second place for the men’s award on a night where Pep Guardiola’s treble winners were well-represented. Kylian Mbappe – just the second man to score a World Cup final hat-trick – was third after starring in France’s run to the final. Kevin De Bruyne finished fourth while Rodri came fifth, Julian Alvarez – also a team-mate of Messi at international level – was seventh, and Bernardo Silva was ninth as City players dominated the top 10. I couldn’t imagine having the career that I’ve had Lionel Messi Messi was presented with the award by David Beckham, owner of Inter Miami and runner-up in the 1999 Ballon d’Or, and was in a reflective mood. “I couldn’t imagine having the career that I’ve had,” he said. “Everything that I’ve achieved. The fortune I’ve had playing for the best team in the world, the best team in history. It’s nice to win these individual trophies. To win the Copa America and then the World Cup, to get it done is amazing.” City were also crowned the men’s team of the season after winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup last term. Haaland’s fine season saw him win the Gerd Muller Trophy for the world’s top-scoring striker after hitting a record 56 goals last season. Women’s Ballon d’Or winner Bonmati won a league and Champions League double before playing a pivotal role in Spain’s World Cup success, where she was also awarded the Golden Ball. “This is a dream for me,” she said. “I have really good players by my side. To reach three straight Champions League finals as a club is special. Let’s hope there’s much more to come.” Bonmati beat Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr into second place, with her Spain and Barcelona team-mate Salma Paralluelo coming third. Two of England’s Lionesses who reached the World Cup final made the top 10, with Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps fifth and Rachel Daly of Aston Villa 10th. Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin Trophy for goalkeeper of the year after his starring role in his nation’s World Cup win. England international Jude Bellingham’s meteoric rise continued as he was voted the Kopa Award winner for the best under-21 player in the world. The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy after the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award. Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday, but his success was for last season – where he shone for Borussia Dortmund and England. England captain Harry Kane was 19th, with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka coming 24th – while Mohamed Salah of Liverpool just missed out on the top 10 as he was 11th. Read More Sam Burgess reveals Russell Crowe gave blessing to Warrington move EIHA to make neck guards mandatory from 2024 following death of Adam Johnson Andy Murray admits he’s not enjoying playing tennis after Paris disappointment Andy Murray loses temper during another defeat to Alex de Minaur Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins set to miss rest of NFL season through injury Liam Livingstone dispels England rift rumours fuelled by ex-captain Eoin Morgan

Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati has won the women’s Ballon d’Or, France Football has announced. The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine year for club and country – winning a league and Champions League double before playing a pivotal role in Spain’s World Cup success, where she also won the Golden Ball. Bonmati beat Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr into second place, with her Spain and Barcelona team-mate Salma Paralluelo coming third. Two of England’s Lionesses who reached the World Cup final made the top 10, with Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps fifth and Rachel Daly of Aston Villa 10th. Manchester City were crowned the men’s team of the season after Pep Guardiola’s side delivered the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. Meanwhile, City’s Erling Haaland won the Gerd Muller Trophy for the world’s top-scoring striker after hitting a record 56 goals last season. Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin Trophy for goalkeeper of the year after his starring role in his nation’s World Cup win. England international Jude Bellingham was voted the Kopa Award winner for the best under-21 player in the world. The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy after the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award. Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday, but his success was for last season – where he shone for Borussia Dortmund and England. Read More Jude Bellingham wins Kopa Trophy at Ballon d’Or ceremony EIHA to make neck guards mandatory from 2024 following death of Adam Johnson Andy Murray admits he’s not enjoying playing tennis after Paris disappointment

Jude Bellingham’s meteoric rise continued as he was awarded the Kopa Trophy for the best player under the age of 21 in world football. The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy at the Ballon d’Or event in France, where the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award. Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday. The Kopa Trophy was awarded for his form last season, when Bellingham helped Borussia Dortmund to finish second in the Bundesliga and starred for England at the World Cup in Qatar. “I just want to thank everyone who has helped me get to this point – from Birmingham to Dortmund and now Real Madrid and the national team,” he said. “Thanks for the support, it means a lot – and more to come.” Former winners Gavi and Pedri – both of Barcelona – were in the top five, as was Bellingham’s Real Madrid team-mate Eduardo Camavinga. Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala came second, having roomed with Bellingham during their time together in the England youth set-up. Bellingham had finished second in 2021, with Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho the only other England player to ever finish in the top three – taking second place in 2019 while at Dortmund. Read More EIHA to make neck guards mandatory from 2024 following death of Adam Johnson Andy Murray admits he’s not enjoying playing tennis after Paris disappointment Andy Murray loses temper during another defeat to Alex de Minaur

The Ballon d’Or awards ceremony takes place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris this evening when football’s most prestigious prize is presented to the best footballer from the 2022/23 season. Lionel Messi, the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, is the most decorated winner of all time with seven triumphs to his name. His heroics in helping Argentina win the World Cup mean Messi looks likely to extend his record with an eighth win but he faces competition from Manchester City’s Erling Haaland who had a record-breaking season of his own and PSG’s Kylian Mbappe after he won Ligue 1 and played a huge part in taking France to the World Cup final. The women’s award, the Ballon d’Or Féminin, will also be handed out this evening. Spain’s Aitana Bonmati is the favourite to succeed Alexia Putellas as the award winner after leading Spain to their Women’s World Cup triumph and Barcelona to the Women’s Champions League but there may be some surprises in store at the ceremony. Follow along for the latest updates from the Ballon d’Or awards in Paris with our liveblog below:

England coach Sarina Wiegman says the Lionesses are under no illusions about what is expected of them these days, insisting England are ready to keep producing victories game after game. A stellar run over the past few years has seen the women’s national team win the European Championship and reach the Women’s World Cup final, where they lost to Spain. Now they are targeting success in the Uefa Nations League – and a place at the 2024 Paris Olympics too for Team GB – and face Belgium in their fourth Group A1 game. Wiegman says the squad are comfortable with the pressures on them, and believes they can improve on the 1-0 victory over the same opposition last week. “The expectations are very clear. Everyone expects us to win,” said Wiegman ahead of the game in Leuven. “We expect ourselves to win but we want to improve on our game. That makes the chances of winning higher. “I was happy with how we played Friday. We could have made it a little bit easier for ourselves, but how we were on the pitch, how we wanted to play out of possession and in possession, we did really well. “What we want to do in possession is be a little better in the final third. We create chances but the final pass, the final position and the execution, we want to do better. “What I really liked on Friday, there was so much energy in the team. You saw real intention. If we lost the ball, we really wanted to win it back. We had only one stage in the game [where] we dropped a little bit, then picked it up again. I want to see the same energy, intention of the whole team and the togetherness.” England are two points ahead of Belgium heading into the match and level with Netherlands, with Scotland bottom. Meanwhile, midfielder Georgia Stanway suggested the Ballon d’Or ceremony must be better planned in future to allow the top women to attend, given many are preparing for an international match on Monday night when the awards are dealt out. Regarding the upcoming match, she noted that England’s progression play was impressive, but more could be done in the final third to improve further. “The Belgium game we played the other day was a real show of who we are,” said Stanway. “We dominated possession and created a lot. But we didn’t get it over the line as many times as we wanted to. “After losing a [World Cup] final, it’s sometimes not motivating to turn up to training every day, but I think we hit the ground running. “Everybody has been firing in training. We have Fran Kirby back, which is also a real highlight. I love playing with her, so it’s important to have numbers all over the pitch.” Read More Fran Kirby felt like she’d never been away on return to England side England come out on top but it’s far from a complete performance against Belgium Mary Earps reveals difficulties with fan relationship with rise of women’s football England vs Belgium LIVE: Women’s Nations League latest updates Beth Mead ‘not close’ to England recall, Sarina Wiegman admits Fran Kirby returns to Lionesses squad as Sarina Wiegman reveals Beth Mead decision

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Former Spanish Football Association president Luis Rubiales has said he intends to appeal against his three-year ban from all football-related activity imposed by FIFA. Rubiales kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips during the trophy presentation following Spain’s victory over England in the World Cup final on August 20, but Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual. World football’s governing body announced earlier on Monday that Rubiales had been banned for a breach of article 13 of the FIFA disciplinary code. Rubiales confirmed in a statement on social media he will appeal against FIFA’s punishment. He ended his lengthy post by saying: “I will go to the last resort so that justice is done and the truth shines through.” FIFA’s statement released earlier on Monday read: “The FIFA disciplinary committee has banned Luis Rubiales, the former president of the Spanish Football Association (RFEF), from all football-related activities at national and international levels for three years, having found that he acted in breach of article 13 of the FIFA disciplinary code.” FIFA said its decision was subject to a possible appeal before its appeal committee. After Rubiales’ resignation from RFEF was made public on September 10, he stated his desire to “defend my innocence” and insisted he had “faith” in the truth. The actions of the former UEFA vice-president at the World Cup final were widely condemned at the time, after he also celebrated his nation’s victory by grabbing his crotch while standing alongside Spain’s Queen Letizia and 16-year-old Princess Infanta Sofia in the VIP box in Sydney. Rubiales did apologise for his actions in a video statement a day after, but later in August insisted he would not resign and claimed the kiss was consensual during a speech in front of Spain’s regional federations, clubs, players, coaches and referees in Madrid. All of Spain’s World Cup-winning squad subsequently indicated they would be unavailable for national team duty while Rubiales remained in post before he was banned by FIFA from all football-related activities for an initial 90-day period on August 26. Spain manager Jorge Vilda was sacked soon after on September 5 and the RFEF apologised at the time for the “enormous damage” caused by Rubiales’ actions. After Hermoso formally submitted a complaint about Rubiales to Spain’s national prosecutor’s office that same week, days later the complaint of sexual assault and an allegation of coercion was filed by the office to the high court. Former Levante defender Rubiales’ did eventually resign, but later in September refused to apologise directly to Hermoso and continued to insist it had been a “consensual” kiss. Read More Aryna Sabalenka ‘really disrespected by the WTA’ after poor organisation How Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have fared since their big-money transfers Police investigate ‘freak accident’ death of Adam Johnson in ice hockey match Jurgen Klopp impressed by Alexis Mac Allister in Liverpool’s win against Forest Sam Burgess hopes to bring ‘fresh approach’ to get Warrington back on track FIFA sends ‘support and prayers’ to Luis Diaz as search for his father continues

Chelsea fans travelling to Wolves for the Premier League clash on Christmas Eve will be offered free transport to and from the game by the club. The match itself was originally scheduled for 23 December but has been moved back a day for a 1 pm kick off, becoming the first Premier League to take place on 24 December since 1995. It is a decision that has been unpopular with fans, given the already congested festive fixture schedule. "The club is aware that transport options are more limited than usual on this date, as it is a Sunday and also Christmas Eve," Chelsea said in a statement. "As a sign of appreciation for fans making this trip, Chelsea Football Club will be offering free travel as a goodwill gesture to anyone who purchases a ticket." The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust said: “It is totally unacceptable that Wolves v Chelsea has been scheduled for Christmas Eve. “Not only could this lead to staffing issues at Molineux, but holiday transport timetables will further inconvenience supporters.” Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino will also be unable to celebrate his wedding anniversary as well as the holiday. The manager said last week: "It is difficult because it is not easy to change," he said last week. "We need to accept we are in England and it is different to the rest of the world ... "Even if I am not happy, we need to try to be in our best level and accept a situation we cannot change." In August Chelsea were criticised for putting financial strain on fans after removing a £10 subsidy on coach travel to domestic away matches, deciding it was not ‘financially sustainable’. The club has spent almost £1bn on signings since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the club in 2022. With reporting from Reuters. Read More Mauricio Pochettino insists Chelsea must rebuild trust with supporters Wolves v Chelsea on Christmas Eve means ‘unhappy wife’ for Mauricio Pochettino Reports of Premier League games on Christmas Eve a ‘kick in the teeth’ for fans Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea ‘not nasty enough’ after defeat by Brentford Brentford end Chelsea’s mini-revival and continue Stamford Bridge success story Chelsea vs Brentford LIVE: Premier League result and final score

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Luis Rubiales has been banned from all football-related activities for three years after kissing player Jenni Hermoso on the lips in the aftermath of Spain’s Women’s World Cup final victory, Fifa has announced. The former president of the Spanish FA, who was forced to resign from his post in disgrace after Hermoso said the kiss was not consensual, was ruled to have breached Fifa’s disciplinary code under the section of “offensive behaviour”. Rubiales was suspended for 90 days by football’s governing body in the wake of Spain’s 1-0 victory over England, which was marred by the former president’s behaviour during the trophy presentation. Fifa has since been investigating the events that followed the Sydney final on 20 August. Rubiales also grabbed his crotch in celebration while standing alongside Spain’s Queen Letizia and 16-year-old Princess Infanta Sofia in the VIP box and initially refused to step down or apologise for his actions, insisting that his kiss with Hermoso was “mutual”. In Fifa’s statement announcing the ban, football’s governing body said Rubiales had been notified of its decision and would have 10 days to request an appeal. Under the ban, Rubiales will not be allowed to take part in any football-related activity at national or international level until 2026. Rubiales, 46, is also facing a criminal investigation in Spain into his conduct and a Madrid judge issued a restraining order to keep him away from Hermoso, who is Spain’s all-time leading goalscorer. A former player who rose to the head of Spanish’s football federation, Rubiales had initially played down the significance of the unsolicited kiss and called his critics “idiots” in the aftermath of the World Cup final. Rubiales eventually announced his resignation as president of the Spanish FA during an interview with Piers Morgan but has still not apologised for the incident. Read More Reporter challenges Ten Hag on not starting Varane: ‘Did you actually say why?’ Major military search begins after kidnapping of Luis Diaz’s father How Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have fared since their big-money transfers

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham continued their stunning starts to life at their new clubs with multi-goal performances over the weekend. Bellingham’s brace fired Real Madrid to victory over Barcelona in El Clasico while Kane hit a hat-trick in Bayern Munich’s 8-0 rout of Darmstadt in the Bundesliga. Here, the PA news agency looks at the England duo’s season to date. Goals galore Kane kick-started the second-half scoring in Bayern’s wild win on Saturday, in a game which at half-time was goalless with Bayern playing with 10 men to Darmstadt’s nine. His eventual treble, completed in the 88th minute and including one from his own half, sees him one ahead of Bellingham in the scoring stakes this season but the latter’s contribution on Saturday stands out as all the more impressive. With Real trailing to Ilkay Gundogan’s early goal for Barca, Bellingham blasted a stunning 30-yard equaliser midway through the second half before popping up with a close-range volley in stoppage time to give his side the Clasico spoils and a four-point lead over their rivals in LaLiga. It is the third time this season he has scored twice in a game, following the wins over Almeria and Osasuna, giving him a goal-a-game record in his first 13 games for the Spanish giants. Kane, in the same number of matches, has 14 goals, including another hat-trick in a 7-0 win over Bochum and a brace against Augsburg. Both men scored in England’s 3-1 win over Scotland, one of three appearances this season for the national team as they sat out the friendly with Australia. That gives Bellingham 14 goals in 16 games for club and country and Kane, who added a brace against Italy, 17 in 16. Bellingham, of course, has produced those numbers from an attacking midfield position and while acclimatising to a more advanced role than he had been used to with former clubs Borussia Dortmund and Birmingham, or with England. Kane leads the line and has already benefitted from four penalties for Bayern and another against Italy. Brits abroad Kane and Bellingham are already on their way to establishing themselves among the most prolific English or British players overseas. Gary Lineker scored 20 goals in his debut LaLiga season with Barcelona, and 52 in 138 games for the club across three seasons in all competitions. Michael Owen netted 16 times in his one season at Real, where David Beckham won a league title in his fourth and final season and Steve McManaman won two Champions Leagues, scoring in the 2000 final. Wales’ record scorer Gareth Bale was another British star to ply his trade at the Bernabeu and scored over 100 goals for Real, with nine in his first 13 games – while often operating from the bench – setting up a tally of 22 in his debut season. Kevin Keegan scored 12 in his first season at Hamburg in 1977-78, a total already surpassed by Kane and Bellingham, while Wales forward Mark Hughes managed only five goals alongside Lineker at Barca and seven in a season on loan at Bayern. Mark Hateley’s most prolific seasons at AC Milan and Monaco brought 11 and 14 goals respectively. Jadon Sancho, a team-mate of Bellingham at Dortmund, took time to establish himself after moving from Manchester City’s youth academy. He did scored 13 goals in his first season as a regular starter, though eight of those came from December onwards. Tammy Abraham got 27 in his first season at Roma, albeit with nine in the unheralded Europa Conference League. Bellingham himself scored only 12 league goals in three years with Dortmund – he is only two away from that already with Real, and more than halfway to his 24 in all competitions for the German side. Read More Police investigate ‘freak accident’ death of Adam Johnson in ice hockey match Jurgen Klopp impressed by Alexis Mac Allister in Liverpool’s win against Forest Sam Burgess hopes to bring ‘fresh approach’ to get Warrington back on track FIFA sends ‘support and prayers’ to Luis Diaz as search for his father continues Manchester United ‘have got to move on’ from humbling derby experience Bukayo Saka does not fear burnout and is keen to feature in every Arsenal match