Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland deserved to win the Ballon d’Or this year. He did, however, believe that his main opponent Lionel Messi should have a stranglehold on the title.
“I always said that the Ballon d’Or had to be two sections. One for Messi and one for the others”. said Pep Guardiola.
“Haaland should win yes or yes. We won the treble, he scored a million goals. I’d love Erling to win. But Messi… Leo won the World Cup!”. he added.
Erling Haaland and seven-time champion Messi are the favourites to win the tournament in Paris later this month. The Manchester City boss was plainly split between his 52-goal scorer from last season’s historic Treble. On either side, he has coached the finest player he has ever coached.
Last season, Haaland scored 52 goals for Manchester City, helping them win the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the Champions League for the first time. In other seasons, Haaland would be the overwhelming choice for the Ballon d’Or, but Messi’s talismanic role in leading Argentina to the World Cup has cemented him as the frontrunner.
‘Egotistically I would say I want Erling because he helped us to achieve what we achieved. I would love it but I won’t tell you it’s unfair if Leo wins. “ Pep Guardiola added.
‘It’s nice that many players for Man City will be there for the first time in many years and challenging for these trophies. That makes us so proud for our organisation.’
The 30-man shortlist includes Haaland, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias, Julian Alvarez, Bernardo Silva, and Josko Gvardiol, as well as former captain Ilkay Gundogan.
According to certain rumours, Messi will win the honour ahead of Haaland. While some speculate that Pep Guardiola and Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni will be present to present Lionel Messi with his record eigth.
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