Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, believes that striker Erling Haaland should be the winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Haaland has scored 52 goals in 53 appearances to help City achieve an historic Treble in the 2022-23 season.
The Norwegian international is among the 30 candidates competing for the Ballon d’Or, which will be announced on October 30.
Guardiola stated, “Haaland should win – Yes. We won the treble, and he scored 50 million goals.”
Inter Miami forward, Lionel Messi, is seen as the primary rival to Haaland for the top individual accolade in world football.
Messi is a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and played a crucial role in Argentina’s success at the 2022 World Cup while he was still a Paris St-Germain player.
Guardiola, who previously coached Messi at Barcelona, believes the 36-year-old deserves a category of his own.
“The Ballon d’Or should be divided into two sections. One for Messi, and then look for the others,” Guardiola said.xxxxxxxxxx
“The worst season for Messi is the best for the rest.”
Haaland has already scored eight goals in 12 appearances this season but has not found the net since September 23 when City defeated Nottingham Forest 2-0.
He will have the opportunity to add to his goal tally when Brighton visits the Etihad on Saturday at 15:00 BST.
City has lost their last two Premier League matches, leaving them in third place, two points behind league leaders Tottenham.
