Erling Haaland Believes He Can Topple Messi For Ballon d’Or Award 2023

Erling Haaland Believes He Can Topple Messi For Ballon d’Or Award 2023. Manchester City forward Erling Haaland feels he has a chance to win the Ballon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi in 2023. The two athletes are the clear favourites to win the award this year.

Haaland delivered an outstanding performance with Manchester City last season, netting an impressive 52 goals that played a crucial role in Pep Guardiola’s team securing the European treble during the 2022-23 season.

On the other hand, Lionel Messi, during the same period, contributed with 20 goals and 21 assists for Paris Saint-Germain and played a pivotal role in Argentina’s World Cup victory. He was recognized for his stellar tournament performance in Qatar by earning the Golden Ball award.

Discussing his prospects of claiming the Ballon d’Or this year, Haaland told French Football Weekly “I believe in myself, I really do. I know I can still improve a lot, I’m still young. But yes, I think I have a chance this year.”

Opinions among fans are split regarding whether Lionel Messi or Erling Haaland should secure the prestigious individual honour this year. The verdict, to be disclosed by France Football, is scheduled for October 30th. Messi is in pursuit of an unprecedented eighth Ballon d’Or, while Haaland is vying for his inaugural trophy.

Although Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi are the leading contenders for this year’s Ballon d’Or, former French international Frank Leboeuf believes that Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez deserves the honour.

He justifies his opinion by pointing out that Alvarez is the sole player to achieve both the treble with Manchester City and win the FIFA World Cup with Argentina.

“If we give the award to the player because of what he won, or how many goals he scored – I’m sorry, there is one guy who made the quadruple. He did what Messi and Haaland did, but he did all of it in one – World Cup, Premier League, League Cup & UEFA Champions League. His name is Alvarez and he’s from Argentina.” He said via Essentiallysports.

“Of course, nobody cares about him because politically he’s not interesting to anybody,” he added.