Pep Guardiola gave a brilliant answer when asked whether Erling Haaland deserves to win the Ballon d’Or.
During what was a stunning first season with City, Norwegian superstar Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 appearances across all competitions.
After playing a vital role in helping City win a historic treble, Guardiola was asked whether Haaland deserves to win the Ballon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi. You can watch the footage below.
The City boss was asked: “I know you’re not a fan of individual awards in football but in 10 days we have the Ballon d’Or and there are two incredible stories.
“Messi with Argentina and Haaland here with the treble, if you had a vote, who would you vote for?”
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Guardiola replied: “Hahaha. You are so funny.
“I’ve always said, the Ballon d'Or has to be two sections. One for Messi, and after look for the others. So, Haaland should win - Yes. We won the treble and he scored 50 million goals. The worst season of Messi is the best for the rest.”
He added: “They both deserve it so what can I say?”
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Haaland’s City teammate, Rodri was recently asked who will win the illustrious award and to many people’s surprise, the Spaniard snubbed his teammate.
According to El Partidazo de COPE, Rodri said: “Who’s going to win the Ballon d’Or. For me, I think Lionel Messi is going to win it.”
Messi is the bookies’ favourite to lift his eighth Ballon d’Or after a stunning year in which he inspired Argentina to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
During the tournament, he was named the best player after scoring seven goals.
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Topics: Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Ballon d'Or, Football
Marcus Chan