Former Paris Saint-Germain winger, Jerome Rothen, has stated that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland deserved to be awarded the 2023 Ballon d’Or over Lionel Messi of Inter Miami. Rothen expressed his belief that it was disgraceful for Messi to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Messi was recently announced as the recipient of this year’s Ballon d’Or in France, surpassing Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe for the honor.
During an interview on RMC Sport, Rothen argued that the Ballon d’Or has lost credibility with Messi winning it over Haaland. He stated, “That is shameful. Of course, that is shameful. For me, it was Haaland who should have had it. From August 2022 to June 2023, what are the criteria that lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others? There is almost no criterion where he comes number 1. If you tell me about the record, he’s inferior to Haaland even though he won the World Cup.”
“Haaland won everything with Manchester City. The guy wins everything and puts in more than 60 goals in the year. When Messi and Ronaldo did it, it was quite normal that they were number one or two. Messi scored about 20 goals for the club last year while the other scored 60. And I am told that this Golden Ball must be given credibility? But there is no longer any credibility.”