Erling Haaland congratulates Lionel Messi for winning the 2023 Ballon d'Or

For months, the soccer community debated whether Lionel Messi or Erling Haaland deserved to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or. The Argentine superstar ended up getting the upper hand, but the Norwegian striker didn’t look jealous at all.

On Tuesday, Haaland took to social media to congratulate the 36-year-old on his eighth Ballon d’Or. “Congratulations, @leomessi!,” the Man City striker wrote in Spanish. The forward shared Messi’s post with the award on an Instagram story.

Haaland was one of the three finalists for the award along with Kylian Mbappe, who also celebrated Messi’s triumph. The 23-year-old was widely seen as the biggest rival of Messi for the prize, having recorded 52 goals in 53 games last season.

His fantastic campaign helped City secure the treble (Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup). And it also earned Haaland many individual trophies. But Messi made a strong case for the Ballon d’Or by leading Argentina to an epic World Cup win.

Messi believes Haaland, Mbappe are future Ballon d’Or winners

At 36, Messi knows this may have been his last Ballon d’Or. That’s not a big deal for Leo, as he looks satisfied with everything he has accomplished so far. Besides, the Inter Miami star sees a great generation of players ready to take over.

In his Ballon d’Or acceptance speech, Messi said both Haaland and Mbappe will be frontrunners for the award in the future. “It’s going to be a nice fight between the two of them and between several other younger players around here. They both deserved it this year.”

Both players have yet to get their hands on this prize, which rewards the best player of the season. At their age, Messi had already won it on multiple occasions. But Leo feels that his era of dominance is coming to an end.

In fact, Messi said Haaland could’ve easily been the winner this year. “Haaland, you deserved the Ballon d’Or very much too. Erling has won the Premier League and Champions League while being the top scorer of everything. This award could have been yours today too. I’m sure for the next years you will win it.“

Messi and Haaland’s stats during the 2023 Ballon d’Or voting period

While Messi was congratulated by most of his colleagues, his triumph gave a lot to talk about in world soccer. Many believe it was Haaland’s year, given the incredible numbers he put up last season.

Considering club and international play, the Norwegian bagged an astonishing 56 goals in as many games. Messi, on the other hand, found the net 30 times in 49 games. The Argentine star, however, provided 24 assists (Haaland had 10).

According to Sofascore, Messi created more big chances than the Man City star (41 vs. 14), who missed more big chances (40 vs. 16). The 36-year-old was also dominant when it came to key passes, delivering 142 compared to Haaland’s 43.

Messi’s 138 successful dribbles also overshadow Haaland’s stats on that area (26). But at the end of the day, it’s safe to say that it was his World Cup performance what earned Leo his eighth Ballon d’Or. At Qatar 2022, Messi scored seven goals in as many games to deliver Argentina their third World Cup title (first since 1986).