WATCH: Pep Guardiola’s witty reply when asked about the Ballon d’Or winner, Erling Haaland or Lionel Messi
Pep Guardiola hints the player he coached deserves to win the award.
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Pep Guardiola, on Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland, who should be the winner of this year's Ballon d'Or. (Source: FIFA/Manchester CIty/UEFA)
Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola shared his thoughts on the Ballon d’Or debate. During a recent press conference, he humorously explained why picking a winner isn’t easy. This year, the frontrunners for the award are Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi. When asked about the winner, Guardiola had a clever response.
He applauded his striker, Erling Haaland‘s magnificent season, which helped them conquer all the competitions they wanted to. Pep further sarcastically remarked that Haaland had scored ’50 million goals’ underlining his important contribution to the Sky Blues. “Haaland deserves it,'” he further said, asserting how his star player made for a real contender for the accolade.
However, he would then give a completely different opinion on the debate as he preferred keeping the award aside for his former player. Lionel Messi has always been a player that Pep Guardiola speaks highly about whenever he gets the opportunity. As per the current City boss, the Argentine maestro has set the benchmark for every player to reach in terms of playmaking and quality.
Pep then clarified how even the worst season for Messi, remembering his struggles with Pari Saint Germain, would still be in contention for being the best for any other player in the world. This one sentence clarified his stance diplomatically as he knows how his former star would have a strong hand at the prestigious award after being the World Cup winner.
Comparing Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi’s stats from the previous season
A player breaking a record boosts his confidence and the team he plays for. Surprisingly, when someone is 26, it’s only a wonder of greatness that everyone else could sit back and enjoy. Erling Haaland had one such season where he did not spare any opportunity to write his name in the history books with his performances and constant threat in front of the goals for Manchester City.
From breaking the Premier League’s top scorer record to winning the Golden Boot, Haaland did it all in what could be said to be the best-ever debut by any player in the sport’s history for a club. However, when modern football’s biggest star is in contention with football’s greatest-ever player, he still looks overshadowed. Despite struggling at the club level, Lionel Messi achieved the unthinkable with Argentina by winning the World Cup.
From winning the Player of the Tournament at the World Cup at his age to emerging as a playmaker for his club, Messi highlighted how his ability in the game is still second to none. He had 37 goals compared to Haaland’s 53 and 25 assists to his 9.
Interestingly, the players are tied for total goal involvement, which could be a driving factor in deciding the ultimate winner of this year’s prestigious Ballon d’Or award.
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- “When I left they went back to watching baseball,” Zlatan Ibrahimovic sounds glad about Lionel Messi playing in MLS
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Rajveer Gupta
(137 Articles Published)