Argentina international Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or 2023. The event was held in Paris, the capital city of France on October 28. This was Leo’s eighth Ballon d’Or win in his career so far and the ceremony saw the attendance of many different soccer stars from across the globe.
The nominee list for the prestigious honor of Ballon d’Or this time around included some of the names like – Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, and Robert Lewandowski. The award holds a very important place in the history of soccer.
As per the reports, former German soccer player Lothar Matthaus was of the opinion that Leo’s Ballon d’Or 2023 win was not fully deserved. But, Leo’s Argentina teammate Angel Di Maria was quick to defend him. Di Maria reportedly commented on Lothar Matthaus’s post on one of his socials criticizing Leo’s Ballon d’Or honor.
Di María to Matthaus: “Go cry somewhere else.”
Matthaus had claimed that Messi’s Ballon d’Or was not deserved. pic.twitter.com/NOl47dWz9Q
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) November 1, 2023
Angel Di Maria reacted by writing up – “Go cry somewhere else”. Although the comment was ended with a laughing emoji at the end, to give it an ironic look, fans can infer that Di Maria was not pleased with Lothar labeling his teammates’ win undeserving.
Fans have reacted to this incident of Di Maria supporting his Argentina teammate. One of the fans has commented – “I don’t think Matthaus remembers how he won his”. Another one stated – “Forever grateful to Angel Di Maria”. One follower reacted by writing – “The fun thing is Messi don’t even care about all these claims”.
Di María to Matthaus: “Go cry somewhere else.”
Matthaus had claimed that Messi’s Ballon d’Or was not deserved. pic.twitter.com/NOl47dWz9Q
— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) November 1, 2023
It can be inferred that fans have not liked Lothar Matthaus discrediting Argentina number ten’s Ballon d’Or win. Lothar Matthaus won the World Cup with Germany in the year 1990. The veteran player has himself won the award of Ballon d’Or in the year 1990.
Lothar Matthaus terms Erling Haaland as the more deserving winner of the Ballon d’Or 2023 over Lionel Messi
Reports say the German legendary player Lothar Matthaus was of the opinion that in the last year or so leading up to the Ballon d’Or 2023, “Haaland performed better than Messi”. Lothar also labeled Inter Miami’s number ten Leo’s winning the honor, heavily influenced by his World Cup win in the year 2022.
The 62-year-old reportedly further went on to inflict that – “It’s underserved that Messi won”. He again stated that for him the striker Erling Haaland is “the best player” in the last year or so. Lothar expressed that Haaland went on to win the treble of trophies with Manchester City.He further stated that Haaland also achieved the feat of most goals in a single Premier League season in 2022-2023. Reports say, Lothar stayed firm on his point of view and said that as per him – “there is no way around Haaland”. It can be inferred that the former German player cemented his thoughts on the Ballon d’Or 2023, without any hesitation.