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Manchester City defender Manuel Akanji has suggested Erling Haaland should have beaten Lionel Messi to the 2023 Ballon d'Or award.
Haaland came up short in the race for the France Football Golden Ball award on October 30. The City superstar finished second on the podium, with Messi winning his record eighth Ballon d'Or.
The City superstar picked up the Gerd Muller award for being the most prolific striker last season. He bagged 52 goals in 53 games across competitions, finishing top scorer in the Premier League (36 goals in 35 games) and UEFA Champions League (12 in 11).
However, Erling Haaland was unable to beat 2022 FIFA World Cup winner Lionel Messi to the Ballon d'Or. Akanji insisted there wasn't much more his Norwegian teammate could do (via ESPN):
"He did everything he could last year. He's scored 50 goals and won the treble. Of course, it would have been nice for him to win but it's not just about that."
Akanji reckons Haaland cares more about winning team trophies with City than individual honors:
"I think he cares more about the team's success than the individual ones but I hope for him that he will win it one day."
The Norway superstar has made an electric start to this campaign and could again be pushing for a Ballon d'Or win. He's bagged 15 goals and three assists in 17 games across competitions.
Shaun Wright-Phillips thinks Erling Haaland missing out on the Ballon d'Or to Lionel Messi was harsh
There is an ongoing debate about whether Lionel Messi merited winning the Ballon d'Or ahead of Haaland. The Inter Miami superstar captained Argentina to World Cup glory last year, bagging seven goals and three assists in seven games.
However, Haaland broke several records last season, including the most goals scored in a single Premier League campaign. Shaun Wright-Phillips alluded to this when giving his take (via GOAL):
"I definitely think Erling Haaland deserved to win the Ballon d’Or this year. I do think Lionel Messi is the greatest of all time but that award has always been given based on individual accolades and Haaland has broken all of the records there are."
Wright-Phillips then argued that Erling Haaland is unable to rival Messi to World Cup glory because he plays for Norway:
"The amount of goals he scored for Manchester City last season was just incredible. For him not to win the award based on Messi winning the World Cup with Argentina seems a bit harsh because Haaland plays for a nation in Norway that wasn’t even in the competition so it’s not really fair."
Messi has now left European football following his move to MLS side Inter Miami in the summer. It could be the perfect opportunity for the likes of Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, and Vinicius Junior to fill the void and look to claim the Ballon d'Or.
