Just in: Lionel Messi’s Ballon d’Or win “disgraceful” as city fans claim Erling Haaland was robbed

Erling Haaland scored 52 goals for Manchester City last season, winning the FA Cup, the Champions League, and the Premier League, but he was not awarded the Ballon d’Or.

Legendary Paris Saint-Germain player Jerome Rothen has referred to Lionel Messi’s most recent Ballon d’Or victory as “disgraceful”

Messi, 36, took home his eighth Ballon d’Or on Monday night in a ceremony held in Paris. The award was given to the Argentina captain, who signed with Inter Miami in July, after he helped his nation win the World Cup and the Ligue 1 championship with Paris Saint-Germain.

To win the trophy, Messi defeated rivals Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. After helping Manchester City win the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup with 52 club goals in the previous season, Haaland was Messi’s main opponent for the award.

Rothen feels that Haaland should have won the Ballon d’Or for his City achievements, even though Messi assisted Argentina in ending their 36-year drought for a third world championship. In his opinion, Messi did not accomplish enough with PSG or Miami to be eligible for the most important individual award in sport.

On his RMC Sport program, “Rothen catches fire,” Rothen vented over the Ballon d’Or. He exclaimed, “It’s shameful! It is, of course, shameful. It should have gone to Haaland, in my opinion. What factors allow us to declare that Leo Messi is superior to the others between August 2022 and June 2023? Hardly any criterion ranks him higher than the rest.

Despite winning the World Cup, he is not as good as Haaland based on his record. Haaland’s Manchester City team won everything. Naturally, you cannot compare him to the World Cup due to Haaland’s Norwegian nationality.

Messi wasn’t the best player at PSG; he wasn’t better than the others. The fact that a player who has won the Ballon d’Or and is regarded as the greatest player in the world isn’t even the best player at his team is troubling. You must put an end to your delirium! He’s also taken home two Ballon d’Or awards in the last four years. Thus, I find it to be shameful. I have hallucinations.

After moving to Miami in the summer, Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or title is likely to be his final one. Mbappe, Haaland, and Jude Bellingham, who took home the Kopa Trophy for best young player on Monday night, are all contenders for the Ballon d’Or in the following year.

At the Paris event, Haaland was presented with the Gerd Muller Trophy, which is awarded to the best striker. However, Rothen believes that Haaland ought to have won the major prize. “I’m told that this Ballon d’Or needs to be given credibility,” he continued. However, all credibility has been lost.”

Messi accepted his ninth Ballon d’Or and praised Haaland and the other contenders. “I want to share this with my international team-mates,” he declared.