Not everyone supports Messi to win the 2023 Golden Ball. Journalist Richard Martin of Goal.com headlined: “Haaland completely deserves to win the Golden Ball this year.”
But most of those who support Haaland winning the Ballon d’Or can only base it on the club’s title and goal statistics.
For the first time in decades, the number of collective titles was pushed to a secondary position in the Golden Ball voting criteria. Many months ago, France Football magazine announced that this year’s voting criteria will prioritize individual performances.
Of course, Haaland’s personal parameters are still very respectable. He scored 52 goals and contributed 9 assists in 53 appearances on all fronts for Man City. As for the national team, Haaland scored 4 goals in 4 matches.
For Messi, the corresponding statistics are 21 goals, 20 assists in 41 appearances for PSG, and 17 goals, 5 assists in 13 appearances for Argentina.
Combined, Haaland has 56 goals and 9 assists in the 2022-2023 season. Messi has 38 goals and 25 assists. From 2023, France Football considers the club season (lasting from August this year to the end of July next year) and not based on the calendar year as before.
The parameters of the two players are nearly equivalent. Haaland is superior on the club front, while Messi dominates the national front.
Haaland is unlucky because he only plays for Norway, with almost no hope of making anything happen in the international arena.
But the truth is that even after lowering expectations, Haaland still did not contribute much to Norwegian football. The fact that the Nordic team soon ended their hopes of qualifying for Euro 2024 is a testament.
Compared to the ability to carry a team that is not too strong, Haaland cannot compare with seniors like Lewandowski, Ibrahimovic or Modric.
And most importantly, Haaland’s “disappearance” in big matches. Last season, Haaland appeared in three finals in the Champions League, FA Cup and English Super Cup. As a result, he failed all three.
Even in encounters with big teams like Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham or Arsenal, Haaland’s mark is quite faint. If you compare the parameters in matches like this, Haaland is inferior to Mohamed Salah, and absolutely cannot be compared to Messi or Mbappe.
Mbappe, who ranked right behind Haaland in this year’s voting list, scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final. As for Messi, his influence goes beyond goal statistics.