The FIFA Ballon D’or award has undoubtedly been one of the most prestigious awards that an individual player has received so far in the history of football. The award is given to the best player across the season in world football who had delivered the most impactful performances for his team thereby achieving significant successes both collectively as well as individually. Former Barcelona manager – Pep Guardiola has had his say on the 2023 edition of the FIFA Ballon d’or and the players who are the potential candidates to win the award.
Guardiola says the both Haaland and Messi deserve the Ballon D’or equally
Fabrizio Romano via his official revelation let everyone know as to what Guardiola had to say with regards to the FIFA Ballon D’or 2023 and as to which player stands a chance to win the award this time. Guardiola made it very clear that Haaland and Messi are the only two players who he thinks deserve to finish first in the list this year. Each of the two players had been sensational for their respective teams last season. When asked to name one of the two above players, Guardiola came up with an interesting answer.
Guardiola said,“I’ve great affection for Messi and Haaland”.“If Messi wins, it will be fair win because of the World Cup. If Haaland wins, it will be fair to the season he had”.“They should give two awards this year! They both deserve to win”. Guardiola thus seems to be equally inclined towards both Messi and Haaland as is pretty much evident from his words.
Haaland was absolutely sensational for Manchester City last season. The Norwegian striker racked up an unimaginable amount of goals for the club in his debut season in the Premier League. He smashed 52 goals in 53 matches for City across all competitions in the 2022/23 season. He was the top scorer both in the Premier League as well as the UCL last season. Thanks to his brilliance, City won the UCL last season for the first time in their history.
Messi on the other hand was brilliant for both his club and country. He won the Ligue 1 title with PSG last season besides having provided the most assists in the league. He shocked the world by winning the World Cup 2022 and also was awarded the tournament’s golden ball for his fine performances in the competition. It remains to be seen as to which of these two players eventually wins the award.
