Matthäus: Messi’s Ballon d’Or is a farce! I’m rooting for him, but he didn’t deserve it. Haaland has been better all year

Lionel Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or has once again sparked controversy. According to many, he did not deserve it and only received it on the basis of a successful World Cup. This opinion is shared by German football legend Lothar Matthäus.

The Ballon d’Or is traditionally awarded to the best player of the past season. But with the World Cup being in the current year, it has an extremely high weight on the award.

Lionel Messi gave a great performance at the championship in Qatar and led Argentina to the coveted championship. It just wasn’t as glorious throughout the season.

Especially in the spring, Messi’s performance went downhill. Particularly in the Champions League, where PSG again, as last year, burned out in the eighth round. In Ligue 1 it wasn’t the same either and the Argentine was even booed by his own fans. In the end, he didn’t even fit into the French league’s ideal eleven.

Therefore, according to many, he did not deserve the award for the best player of the whole season. In comparison, Erling Haaland shattered scoring records, scored the most goals in Premier League history and led Manchester City to their dream Champions League title at last, plus he was a big part of the treble.

“All last year, Haaland was better than Messi. It is undeserved that Messi won. It is impossible to leave Haaland out. I think this choice is a farce, even though I am a Messi fan,” legendary German footballer Lothar Matthäus told Sky Sports.

According to Matthäus, it also shows that the World Cup carries more weight than everything else in the announcement.

“For me, Haaland is the best in the last 12 months. After all, he won important titles with the Citizens – the Champions League, the Premier League, the FA Cup and in between he shattered scoring records,” added Matthäus, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1990.

Source: Sky Sports