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Former footballer Lothar Matthaus has claimed that Manchester City's Erling Haaland deserved to win the 2023 Ballon d'Or over Lionel Messi.
Winner of the individual honor in 1990, Matthaus feels that the Norway international performed better than the Argentina skipper. Speaking about the announcement that was made in Paris on Monday (October 30), he told Sky (via Daily Trust):
"Over the whole of last year, Haaland performed better than Lionel Messi."
Haaland managed to score 52 goals during his first season at Manchester City, helping the Premier League club win the treble last season. On the decision for this year's Ballon d'Or, the former Germany international added:
"It’s undeserved that Messi won. But that shows that a World Cup counts more than anything else.
"For me, Haaland is the best player of the last twelve months won major titles with Manchester City ( Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in England) and broke goalscoring records in the process. For me, there is no way around Haaland. The choice is a farce, even though I am a Messi fan."
Although the World Cup is a four-week competition, winning the trophy is regarded as the highest success in a footballer's career by many. Messi won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar last year, finishing with seven goals and the most assists (three) in the tournament.
He was also awarded the Golden Ball, given to the tournament's best player. In the 2022/23 season, the 36-year-old attacker managed 21 goals and 20 assists across all competitions with his former club Paris Saint-Germain.
"Why not return to the club?" - Lionel Messi makes Barcelona claims after winning eighth Ballon d'Or
Lionel Messi was recently asked about a potential return to Barcelona, a club where he attained legendary status. Before leaving the Catalan side in 2021, he scored a staggering 672 goals and assisted 303 from 778 appearances across all competitions.
He won La Liga 10 times and the UEFA Champions League thrice, among other honors with Barcelona. When asked about a future return during his post-Ballon d'Or victory press conference, he said (via 90 min):
"Barcelona is the club where I grew up, which gave me everything, which I love, and where I also gave my all. Why not return to the club? But it’s not something I’m thinking about now."
Rumors of Messi returning to the Blaugrana on a loan deal in January persisted after his current side Inter Miami crashed out of the race for a playoff spot in October. However, it seems as though he will stay put with the Herons for now, a club for which he's scored 11 goals from 14 matches since joining in the summer.
