"Had he been a Real Madrid player...probably would've been a boycott" - Jamie Carragher on PL star losing Ballon d'Or to Lionel Messi

Liverpool legend believes Erling Haaland would have won the Ballon d'Or in 2023 instead of Lionel Messi if he were a Real Madrid player. He believes the stats and trophies were in favor of the Manchester City star and that he should have finished with the France Football trophy.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Carragher said that Haaland did not deserve to finish as low as 26 in the Ballon d'Or this year, nor finish second in the race to Messi in 2023. He said (via City Xtra):

"In the Ballon d'Or, [Erling] Haaland was 26th. That's ridiculous, even when accounting for Manchester City’s disappointing season. Haaland finished second to Lionel Messi when Manchester City won the treble. Had he been a Real Madrid player missing out after 52 goals in 53 games in a UEFA Champions League-winning season, there probably would've been a club boycott of the ceremony..."

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola also believed that Haaland deserved the award in 2023, claiming that France Football should give one award to the Argentine and another to the next-best player. He said (via ESPN)

"Always I said the Ballon d'Or should be in two sections; one for Messi, then after another one so Haaland should win, yes. We won the treble, he scored a million goals. The worst season for Messi is the best for the rest of the players. Both deserve it. Realistically, I want Haaland to have it cause he helped us achieve what we achieved, I would love it. But Messi won the World Cup."

Lionel Messi won the Ballon d'Or in 2023 by 105 points, finishing with 462 points, while Haaland and Kylian Mbappe finished right behind with 357 and 270 points.

Real Madrid legend hit out at Lionel Messi winning 2021 Ballon d'Or

Real Madrid icon Iker Casillas hit out at the Ballon d'Or in 2021, posting on social media that Lionel Messi did not deserve to win the award. He claimed that the Argentine was among the top 5 in history and said:

"It is increasingly difficult for me to believe in football awards. For me, Messi is one of the 5 best players in history, but we have to start to know who the most outstanding players are after a season. It's not that difficult, damn it! Others make it difficult."

Lionel Messi got 613 votes in the 2021 Ballon d'Or, beating Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho for the award.

About the author

Sripad is a veteran Sportskeeda football journalist who has been with the company for around 10 years. His tryst with writing happened in class XI when he started penning blogs, and his foray into football was during the early 2000s, watching matches with his cousins.

Sripad has been a Chelsea fan through and through since the age of 9 and can watch their 2012 Champions League triumph on repeat. The undisputed ‘GOAT’ according to him is Lionel Messi and his favorite managers are Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Apart from popular European leagues, he also likes to follow other leagues like the MLS, Saudi Pro League, Eredivisie, and Liga MX.

Sripad believes in only using the right sources for his articles, and is an expert in understanding how to get the right quotes for each news to provide proper background information. His exploits have led him to become a popular figure in European Football and interviewing Premier League legends such as Alan Shearer, Shay Given, Paul Dickov, and John Barnes. His articles have been much revered amongst the football fraternity and have been shared by the likes of John Terry, Gary Lineker, and Declan Rice.

If given a chance to change a football rule, Sripad wants VAR to be fully automated and offside rules to be less stringent. When not working, he likes to watch past Formula 1 races and play FIFA.

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Edited by Sripad