Lionel Messi winning the Ballon D’Or this year has been described as a ‘farce’ by Lothar Matthaus, who believes Erling Haaland deserved the award.
The Inter Miami forward picked up his eighth Ballon D’Or on Monday night, extending his own record for the most wins of the prestigious award.
His success was chiefly down to leading Argentina to an incredible World Cup win in Qatar, which saw Messi pretty much complete a near-perfect football CV.
Matthaus was not impressed, though, feeling that the World Cup win was given far too much significance and that Haaland was by far the better player over the last year.
The Germany legend, who won the award himself in 1990, says he is a fan of Messi, but it is a farce that he got his hands on the trophy again.
‘Haaland has done better than Messi for the entire year,’ the former Bayern Munich and Inter Milan superstar told Sky Deutschland.
‘This award is not deserved and it proves that the World Cup counts more than everything.
‘To me, nobody was better than Haaland, he was the best in the last 12 months. He won important titles with Manchester City, setting a record for goals. It was a farce even if I’ve always been a Messi fan.’
Messi himself admitted that Haaland would have been a worthy winner after his immense season with Manchester City, winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup, while scoring 52 goals in 53 games.
‘Erling deserved it very much too, he has won Premier League, Champions League while being the top scorer of everything. This award could have been yours today too,’ said Messi. ‘I’m sure in the next years you will win it.’
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