Inter legend Lothar Matthäus believes Erling Haaland deserved the Ballon d’Or more than Leo Messi: ‘It was a farce.’
The former Inter and Germany star, a Ballon d’Or winner in 1990, was not happy to see Messi win the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career on Monday.
“Haaland has done better than Messi for the entire year,” the 62-year-old told Sky Deutschland as quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“This award is not deserved and it proves that the World Cup counts more than everything. To me, nobody was better than Haaland, he was the best in the last 12 months. He won important titles with Manchester City, setting a record for goals. It was a farce even if I’ve always been a Messi fan.”
Matthäus also won the Ballon d’Or after leading his country West Germany to win Italia 90. The former Nerazzurri star scored 53 goals in 153 appearances with the Nerazzurri between 1988 and 1992.
He won a Serie A title in 1988-89 and a UEFA Cup, now Europa League, in 1990-91.
Four Serie A stars made the top 30 at the 2023 Ballon d’Or: Nicolò Barella, Lautaro Martinez, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian forward became the highest-ranked Napoli and Nigerian player ever, finishing 8th.