At a press conference, the Manchester City manager spoke about who he believes deserves the Ballon d’Or this year.
The coach believes that this prize should be divided into two parts: “a Ballon d’Or for Lionel Messi and another for everyone else”. However, Guardiola stressed that Erling Haaland should win it, as the Norwegian had an exceptional season, achieving “the hat-trick and scoring a million goals”.
The City coach, however, added that Messi won the World Cup. Guardiola concluded that both players deserved it, and so he remains undecided.
It should be noted that the Ballon d’Or award ceremony will take place on October 30 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The determination of the winner has changed in recent years, focusing on achievements over the course of a season rather than the entire year. Last year, Karim Benzema, the French striker from Real Madrid, was rewarded.
Furthermore, the main favorites for the Ballon d’Or have been designated. At the top of the list is former PSG striker, now captain of Inter Miami, Lionel Messi. He is followed by Norwegian international and Manchester City player Erling Haaland. The captain of the French team, representative of PSG, Kylian Mbappé, occupies third place in the ranking.
