Lionel Messi was crowned as the winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or award in Paris, ahead of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe. However, the comments from the Argentine forward after winning the accolade opened the door for criticism from online fans.
In his acceptance speech, Messi predicted a bright future for the players who finished on the podium with him: “Haaland and Mbappé will win the Ballon d’Or one day.” He further commented on Erling Haaland and his incredible season: “Haaland deserved it very much too, he has won the Premier League, Champions League while being the top scorer of everything. This award could have been yours today too. I’m sure in the next years you will win it”
These comments from Lionel Messi were perceived as weak by the online community. They felt that even the Argentine himself wasn’t convinced that he deserved the award above Erling Haaland.
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Comments like “Even he knows he doesn’t deserve it,” “Even he knows he doesn’t deserve it that’s actually insane,” “Absolutely Robbed” and “Even Messi knew the award is for Halaand,” echoed the sentiments of the fans who felt the Erling Haaland deserved the accolade.
Since the award ceremony, many players and experts have come out and expressed their views in different shapes and forms. Piers Morgan had a meltdown about the whole process, meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo commented on a post that was condemning the win of Lionel Messi.
The Greatest Athletes in the world 🐐
Lionel Messi – 8 rings ⚽️
Tom Brady – 7 rings 🏈
Michael Jordan – 6 rings 🏀 pic.twitter.com/b0hsXNSubt— Leo Messi 🔟 Fan Club (@WeAreMessi) November 2, 2023
The criticism of the latest Ballon d’Or win for Lionel Messi has similar shades of 2021 when he won his 7th Ballon d’Or award over Robert Lewandowski. The accolade from France Football has always been a controversial topic whenever Messi and Ronaldo finish on the top.
Didier Deschamps claims Lionel Messi isn’t the GOAT
Among the different comments and reactions from everyone in the soccer community, French national team manager, Didier Deschamps’s latest claim raised a few eyebrows for everyone around the world.
The French manager talked to ESPN Deportes during the Ballon d’Or ceremony: “The Argentinians [say that Messi is the best of all time]. He is one of them, but it is difficult to say that Messi is better than Cristiano Ronaldo or Kylian Mbappe, who is younger.”
-¿Sientes que Messi es el mejor jugador de todos los tiempos? 🤔
-LOS ARGENTINOS LO DICEN… 💥
¡Contundente respuesta de Didier Deschamps! 🗣️#BallonDor pic.twitter.com/6QFEw8w2vB
— Futbol Picante (@futpicante) October 30, 2023
The 2018 World Cup-winning manager refused to rate Lionel Messi higher than Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe. He acknowledged that Messi is among the best but refused to admit that the Argentine is the GOAT (Greatest of all time).
As the days have gone by, the views about the Ballon d’Or win have become more polarizing. While some admit that Messi deserved the accolade over Erling Haaland due to his World Cup triumph. Meanwhile, others are adamant that Haaland’s treble-winning season was worthy of this year’s Ballon d’Or.