Rodri Says ‘Immortal’ Lionel Messi Deserved the Ballon d’Or Over Erling Haaland

The saga around the Ballon d’Or never shies away from a debate to the soccer world. After Lionel Messi’s eighth trophy win, the soccer fraternity is divided after the fresh victory of the Argentine sensation. Recently, Manchester City’s ace midfielder Rodri decided to go in favor of Lionel Messi, despite Erling Haaland’s heroics last season. But what makes him snub his teammate for the Argentine captain?

Rodri himself finished 5th on the rankings after a tremendous performance in the 2022–2023 season. The defensive midfielder was instrumental in dictating the play from the center of the pitch and scored the only match-winning goal in the Champions League final. Hence, following the award closely, Rodri felt Messi deserved the award for spectacular performances. 

Why Rodri chose Lionel Messi over Erling Haaland

Rodri, expressing his joy at being in the top thirty-player list, claimed that the top four players above him were immortal. The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Haaland, and Kylian Mbappe were labeled as immortals along with Lionel Messi by the Spanish international. Speaking to AS, Rodri said, “I was the first on the list of mortal people, as they say. The current level of football is so high. We came from a World Cup that Argentina had won, and that’s why Messi deserved it.” Rodri further clarified his stance on Mbappe and Haaland as well.

Claiming Messi to be one immortal, Rodri says that the World Cup was the main reason for Messi deserving his 8th Ballon d’Or. But Rodri also made a point about Mbappe and Haaland’s extraordinary efforts. Rodri continued stating, “But we’re talking about Mbappé or Haaland, who score 40 or 50 goals.” The 27-year-old says that both the Norwegian and the French star also qualify as immortals because of their heavy goal-scoring ability.

Rightly so, Erling Haaland took the Premier League by surprise with goals since his arrival. The former Borussia Dortmund striker scored 52 goals, leading Manchester City to their first-ever treble. Mbappe, on the other hand, could also be considered unlucky, as he scored 41 goals. The French star won the 2022 World Cup Golden Boot with a tremendous hat-trick in the final. The star also won the Ligue 1 by top-scoring with 29 goals.

Kevin De Bruyne, on the other hand, also had a magnificent 2022–23 season. His creative gameplay was one main reason for City’s success. Apart from 10 goals, the player gathered 28 assists for Pep Guardiola’s team, which was the highest in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Nonetheless, Rodri provided the reason for claiming Messi as the deserved Ballon d’Or winner.

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