Next Monday, October 30, the famous French magazine France Football will announce the winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or, with the main favorites being Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. The Argentinian won the Football World Cup, while the Norwegian is in the spotlight for his performances at Manchester City, with whom he won the Treble in the 2022-2023 season.
If we look at the statistics, we see that both players are legitimate winners of this award. Messi has scored 32 goals and provided 25 assists for his clubs (Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami). This does not include his performance at the national team level.
This is where Messi’s great argument lies. “La Pulga” entered Football Olympus after winning the World Cup with Argentina. At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Rosario star scored 7 goals, 4 of which came from penalty kicks, and also provided 3 assists. Although Messi had a disappointing year in the Champions League (he was eliminated in the round of 16 and scored 4 goals), he was still able to become Ligue 1 champion.
Erling Haaland, for his part, aims to score goals left and right. The forward scored 52 goals and provided 9 assists last season. The Norwegian did not attend the Football World Cup as his team failed to qualify, depriving him of a golden opportunity to continue showing off.
Manchester City’s “9” was the foundation of the English club’s historic season. Haaland was the protagonist of Guardiola’s team’s treble victory. In the Champions League, the most important club competition in the world, “Android” scored 12 goals in 11 games.
Looking at the overall performance, we can say that Haaland is well-deserved because his performance throughout the season is more stable. In addition, he also plays in a more competitive and higher-level league like the Premier League. Even so, Messi’s feats in football’s biggest tournament caught everyone’s attention.
For Guardiola, both players deserve the award. “Haaland should have won. We won the treble because he scored 52 goals, but, of course, Messi: in his worst season, he was the best of most players. They Everyone deserves it,” said the former Barcelona coach.
From Major League Soccer to around the world! Messi will win the 2023 Ballon d’Or! 🚨
They leaked the male and female winners of this medal from Spain 🏆🤯 What are the advantages of winning it?#centralforks https://t.co/hlYZEOS7AV
— FOX Sports MX (@FOXSportsMX) October 17, 2023
Just over a week before the winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or was announced, many Spanish media came forward to exclusively report that Messi would be the winner of the award.
If so, Messi will win his eighth Ballon d’Or. The previous seven Golden Globe Awards were in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021.