Former PSG winger Jerome Rothen believes Manchester City’s Erling Haaland deserves to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023 over Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi.
Rothen insisted that Messi’s Ballon d’Or victory over Haaland in 2023 was a disgrace.
Earlier this week, Messi was named the winner of this year’s Ballon d’Or in France.
Argentina’s captain defeated Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe to win the award.
Rothen says the Ballon d’Or has lost legitimacy since Messi won it over Haaland, according to RMC Sport.
“That is awful. That is, of course, disgraceful. Haaland, in my opinion, should have got it. What are the criteria that lead us to believe that Leo Messi is superior than the others from August 2022 to June 2023? There are hardly no criteria where he ranks first. “If you tell me about the record, even though he won the World Cup, he’s inferior to Haaland,” Rothen stated.
“With Manchester City, Haaland won everything.” He wins everything and scores more than 60 goals in a single season.
“When Messi and Ronaldo did that, it was pretty typical for them to be ranked first or second. Last year, Messi scored roughly 20 goals for the club, while the other scored 60. And I’m told that this Golden Ball needs to be validated? But there is now no credibility.”
