Lionel Messi’s victory over Erling Haaland for the 2023 Ballon d’Or continues to irritate Shaun Wright-Phillips, who insists the final vote was not “fair”.
The 36-year-old Inter Miami striker lifted his eighth Ballon d’Or on a historic evening in Paris, after beating Manchester City’s Haaland. Messi won the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar last December, making him the favorite to win the prestigious individual award. However, Wright-Phillips believes the Norwegian striker should have been rewarded as he broke several records in leading City to a historic treble in 2022-23.
“ I really think Erling Haaland deserved to win the Ballon d’Or this year.”the former Man City player told NewBettingSites.uk.
“I think Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time, but this award has always been given on the basis of individual awards and Haaland has broken all records. The number of goals he scored for Manchester City last season is simply incredible. The fact that he wasn’t rewarded because Messi won the World Cup with Argentina seems a bit harsh because Haaland plays for a Norwegian nation that didn’t even participate in the competition, which doesn’t is not really fair. »
The football world is divided on whether Messi deserves the award. While legends like Thierry Henry have backed the Barcelona legend, several others, like Jérôme Rothen and Lothar Matthäus, have called the award a “shame” and a “farce”, as it was an “undeserving” Messi who was honored by the award, according to them.
