Former AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic has spoken about his thoughts on who is going to win this year’s Ballon d’Or. The list of the 30 nominees has already been revealed by the governing body of the ceremony earlier this month.
According to reports, Argentina great Lionel Messi and Norwegian striker Erling Haaland are the two favorites to win the award this year. Many people have stated their reasons behind their choices and so has Zlatan. The former Barcelona star seems to be keeping the City striker ahead of his former teammate in the race for the award. The 41-year-old has backed his choice with reason in a recent interview.
In the interview, the former striker was asked about whom he thought would win the award this year. To this, he said, “The Ballon d’Or is deserved by Erling Haaland he has been the best player in UCL and Premier League.”
🚨💣| Zlatan Ibrahimovic speaks on the 2023 Ballon dor:
🗣️Zlatan Ibrahimovic🇸🇪:The Ballon D’or is deserved by Erling Haaland he has been the best player in UCL and Premier League.
Journalist🎤:But Messi won the World Cup, do you see him win?
🗣️Zlatan Ibrahimovic🇸🇪:That’s why… pic.twitter.com/5pBukS2r2b
— Terminator Ronny (@TerminatorRonny) September 19, 2023
He was then asked why he chose Haaland over Messi although the latter has recently won the World Cup. Zlatan then said, “That’s why the Golden Ball already exists, Messi played in Ligue1. Or you can even say Uber Eats League whereas Haaland played in the Toughest League. Playing in MLS or Uber Eats doesn’t make a player win the Ballon d’Or. That’s the reason I didn’t win the Ballon d’Or when I played in MLS.”
In the previous season, Haaland was truly terrific for Pep Guardiola and his squad. Although it was his first year in England, the striker made a huge impact. The player scored around 52 goals and 9 assists in 53 matches and also won the treble with City.
Messi, on the other hand, also had quite a successful season too. The Argentine star scored 21 goals and 20 assists for the French side Paris Saint-Germain. He won the Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup last season. Apart from this, he won the FIFA World Cup with his national team. The player was also the Golden Ball winner at the tournament last December.
Zlatan makes a controversial comment on the GOAT debate
Swedish legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic has recently made a very controversial statement over the GOAT debate. The legendary striker has always been around controversies throughout his career and has once again made it to the headlines for the same.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic shares his one-sided take on Messi vs Ronaldo debate 🙈 pic.twitter.com/cTXGzYwxtE
— 1хBet (@1xBet_Eng) June 27, 2022
In a recent interview, the former striker was asked to choose between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. To this the former Manchester United striker took a cheeky dig at the Portuguese star as he said, “The only thing Ronaldo is ahead of Messi is the age.”
Zlatan isn’t the only one to think that the debate is now over. After winning the World Cup, many people think that Messi has ended the debate as to who is the Greatest of all time. It was almost the only accolade he hadn’t won before December 2022.
