Lionel Messi may have captained Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory in Qatar last year, but there is no way he can be given the 2023 Ballon d'Or award over Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland.
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On 18 December 2022, as Messi collected the Golden Ball for his performances at the World Cup in the Middle East, you got the feeling he would need to create more space in his cabinet for yet another prestigious individual award – the 2023 Ballon d'Or. At the time, nobody would have argued otherwise. Messi won the World Cup and was recognised as the best player at the tournament, capping off a stellar career with the sport's grandest collective trophy. Haaland, however, has insisted on making things less clear.
The Norwegian joined Manchester City last year and hit the ground running, making it inevitable that he'd end his debut season in England having made an impression. With 51 goals to his name and still more matches to be played as the Citizens chase down a treble, he has done that and more. Haaland, by all accounts, is currently the most lethal goalscorer in world football and, if Pep Guardiola is to end the season with the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League trophy in his hands, there will not be many who look beyond Haaland when analysing how it was possible. We can now laugh at those who predicted he would battle in Guardiola's system as he has already achieved what no other player in Premier League history has before – scoring 35 goals in a single season. The record was previously held jointly by legendary English strikers Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, but their achievements came when there were 22 teams in the English top flight, making the ex-Borussia Dortmund forward's feat that more special.
Haaland's scoring run in the league has included four hat-tricks, one less than Shearer's five in the 1995/96 season, while his form in Europe is likely to see him become the first player from the Premier League to finish the season as the top scorer in the Champions League since Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007/08. Haaland currently has 12 UCL goals, six more than any other player still in the competition. Due to it having been a World Cup year, journalists around the world who are handed a vote might still favour the footballer who had the biggest impact in football's biggest tournament, but it would be unfair to suggest that what Messi did over the course of seven matches in the Middle East is worthy of more recognition than the consistent ruthlessness Haaland has displayed since penning a contract at City, at least at this moment in time, at least when it comes to how awards should be judged.
The striker is currently nine goals away from equalling Dixie Dean's all-time record for the most goals scored in a season (60) for an English club, and if all goes well for Guardiola and City across all competitions, he will have nine matches to hunt down yet another milestone, one that has stood for almost 100 years.
Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnessing something very special. Don't wait for the Ballon d'Or ceremony in October to soak it all in!
Opinion by @KurtLaduma
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