The new Ballon d’Or won by Lionel Messi completely discredits this award, annoys Jérôme Rothen, who would have liked Erling Haaland to win.
“From August 2022 to June 2023, what are the criteria that lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others? » Jérôme Rothen doesn’t understand. Even if Lionel Messi’s victory in the Ballon d’Or was expected, the RMC consultant had difficulty finding reasons to place the Argentinian ahead of Erling Haaland over the past season.
“There is almost no criterion where it comes number 1, railed Rothen Tuesday evening on the air. If we talk about the prize list, he is inferior to Haaland even if he won the World Cup. Haaland has won everything with Manchester City. » And we could hardly ask the Norwegian to win the World Cup with his country.
Individually and collectively, the Manchester City striker could not do better. “Haaland broke all records, recalls Rothen. The guy wins everything and scores more than 60 goals in the year. When Messi and Ronaldo were doing it, it was completely normal for them to be number 1. But Messi scored around twenty club goals last year when the other scored 60. And I, we tells me that we must give credibility to this Ballon d’Or? But there is no credibility left! »
“Messi is not the best player in the world”
Messi beat Haaland and Kylian Mbappé, who was his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain… and who had a much better season than him with the capital club. “At PSG, Messi was not above the fray, he was not the best player at the club, Rothen chokes. It’s still problematic that a guy who has the Ballon d’Or, who is supposed to be the best player in the world, who is not even in his club. »
It is certainly the crowning achievement of a career for Messi, who won the last huge trophy that was missing from his list of achievements. But voters shouldn’t have thought that way. “My journalist friends, for three or four years, Messi has not been the best player in the world, concludes Rothen. We must stop the madness! And over the last four years, he has won two Golden Balls. So for me, it’s shameful. I’m hallucinating. »
