Jerome Rothen, the former Paris Saint-Germain winger, has voiced his opinion that Manchester City’s Erling Haaland was the deserving recipient of the 2023 Ballon d’Or over Lionel Messi of Inter Miami.
Rothen firmly asserted that it was a disgrace that Messi clinched the 2023 Ballon d’Or ahead of Haaland.
As a reminder, it was recently announced that Messi had won this year’s Ballon d’Or in France. The Argentine captain triumphed over Haaland and Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain to claim the prestigious award.
Rothen, expressing his viewpoint on RMC Sport, raised concerns about the credibility of the Ballon d’Or following Messi’s victory over Haaland.
“That is shameful. Of course, that is shameful. For me, it was Haaland who should have had it. From August 2022 to June 2023, what are the criteria that lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others? There is almost no criterion where he comes number 1. If you tell me about the record, he’s inferior to Haaland even though he won the World Cup,” Rothen said.
“Haaland won everything with Manchester City. The guy wins everything and puts in more than 60 goals in the year.
“When Messi and Ronaldo did it, it was quite normal that they were number one or two. Messi scored about 20 goals for the club last year while the other scored 60. And I am told that this Golden Ball must be given credibility? But there is no longer any credibility.”
