Lionel Messi's comments on Erling Haaland after Ballon d'Or snub speak volumes

01 November 2023 , 07:00

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Lionel Messi's comments on Erling Haaland after Ballon d'Or snub speak volumes

Lionel Messi maintained that Erling Haaland would've been a deserving winner of the Ballon d'Or and that his time would come.

The Manchester City star finished second in this year's edition as the Argentine won it for the eighth time. It is by far Haaland's best performance after a season that saw him shatter Premier League goalscoring records and win the treble with Pep Guardiola's side.

Messi's international exploits were too much to overlook with Haaland beating Kylian Mbappe to second place. The Norwegian, as well as the Frenchman, more than have time on their side and Messi believes the City marksman is destined to pick up the award.

He said: "Haaland and Mbappe will win the Ballon d'Or one day. Erling deserved it very much too, he has won [the] Premier League, [and] Champions League while being the top scorer of everything. This award could have been yours today too. I'm sure in the next years you will win it."

Haaland was recognised on stage at the ceremony in Paris as he picked up the Gerd Muller trophy after being the most prolific player in Europe, scoring more than the likes of Messi, Mbappe, Harry Kane and Robert Lewandowski.

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The City star said on his exploits: “It’s my job, that’s why I’m here. It’s what I’m good at." He went on to add: “If I had to give my advice I’d say stay hungry, be in the moment, stay sharp. This feeling is an amazing feeling and I had it quite a few times last season, and I want to chase this feeling."

Erling Haaland won the Gerd Muller trophy but missed out on the Ballon d'Or (Getty Images)

So often the man who wins the Champions League ends up scooping the Golden Ball, but in a World Cup season Messi's efforts in Qatar trumped Haaland and his City team-mates. The Manchester outfit had more nominees than any other side owing to their fantastic season.

Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva all finished inside the top ten. Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan, who spent last season playing for City, were also nominated with Silva highlighting the quality at the Etihad as they look to win the club's first-ever Ballon d'Or.

The Portuguese star said: "Not just the five players in the top 10 but so many nominees in both men's and women's categories and a sign that the work that this club, all of us together, have been doing has been great, and also extra motivation to keep going and to push ourselves every day to be better and to try it again."

Samuel Meade