Class act! Erling Haaland shows sportsmanship, applauding Lionel Messi’s deserved Ballon d’Or win. True respect in the beautiful game.

Goal machine Haaland sent a congratulatory message to Messi despite losing the Ballon d’Or to the Argentine superstar in Paris on Monday. The Norwegian forward shared Messi’s Instagram post with the Golden Ball on his story and wrote, “Felicitaciones @LEOMESSI” which translates to ‘Congratulations’.

Erling Haaland congratulated Lionel Messi after the Argentine star won his record eighth Ballon d’Or on Monday.

Despite scoring a whopping 52 across all competitions and winning goals the treble with the Cityzens, Haaland came second behind the 36-year-old who was instrumental in guiding Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar last year.

After accepting the coveted award for the eighth time in his career, Messi acknowledged Haaland’s efforts from last season and even said that the City star could have also won the prize this year.