Former captain of the German national team, Lothar Matthaus, believes that Erling Haaland deserves the 2023 Ballon d’Or more than Lionel Messi.
“The 2023 Ballon d’Or voting is a joke, even though I am a Messi fan,” Matthaus said on Sky channel after the Ballon d’Or ceremony on the evening of October 30. “Throughout the previous season, Haaland performed better. Messi’s win was undeserved.”
Matthaus also argued that Messi’s victory highlights the importance of the World Cup over any other tournament. Therefore, players who did not participate in the World Cup, such as Haaland, have no chance to compete for the Ballon d’Or. “Haaland won the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup, and broke many goal-scoring records. In my opinion, he’s the best player of the past 12 months,” Matthaus added.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or is organized by the French magazine France Football. The voting is decided by 100 journalists from 100 leading FIFA-ranked countries. Each journalist selects five players from the list of 30 candidates.
The leading player receives six points, the second player receives four points, the third player receives three points, the fourth player receives two points, and the last player receives one point. The player with the highest cumulative points from 100 ballots wins. According to the results announced on the evening of October 30, Messi led over Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Kevin De Bruyne, and Rodri.
This marks the eighth time Messi has won the Ballon d’Or, setting a new record for this award and increasing his lead over the second-placed player, Cristiano Ronaldo, to three. Legends Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini, and Marco Van Basten share the third place with three Ballon d’Or awards.
Over the past 12 months, Messi won the 2022 World Cup with the Argentina national team, Ligue 1 with PSG, and the Leagues Cup with Inter Miami. The 36-year-old forward also received two individual awards, the Ballon d’Or World Cup and the Silver Shoe. Meanwhile, Haaland did not participate in the tournament in Qatar, as the Norwegian national team did not qualify. However, the 23-year-old forward scored 52 goals in 53 matches in the 2022-2023 season, helping Manchester City win the Champions League, the Premier League, and the FA Cup.
The voting period for the 2023 Ballon d’Or was from before the 2022 World Cup until the end of August 2023. In contrast, the voting period for the FIFA Best award is from after the World Cup until the end of August 2023. Therefore, Haaland is the top candidate for this award. The FIFA Best award ceremony will take place in early 2024.
Matthaus was once the captain of the German national team, winning the 1990 World Cup, Euro 1980, six Bundesliga titles, a UEFA Cup with Bayern, a Serie A title, and a UEFA Cup with Inter. In 1990, the former midfielder also won the Ballon d’Or.
