Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, and the 2023 Ballon D’Or
On December 18th, 2022, I, along with millions and millions of football fans around the world, witnessed a magical moment in the form of the FIFA World Cup Finals that took place between Argentina, led by the legendary Lionel Messi, and then-reigning World Cup Champions, France, led by a mature and in-form Kylian Mbappe entering the prime of his career. I could go on and on about how that match went and the pure thrill of witnessing sports history live as it happened, but that’s not what this is for. It’s the implications of the results and what has transpired since that I want to talk about.
Fast forward to present time, we are just around two weeks from the 2023 Annual Ballon d’Or Ceremony where the best performing player of the year is awarded the titular Ballon d’Or, amongst other awards being presented. Historically, a combination of team and individual accomplishments contribute to who receives the Ballon d’Or, arguably the most prestigious individual award in the history of football. Coming off a year where the World Cup took place, it’s hard to argue against the best player on the winning team of the international tournament receiving the honors. With that being said, Messi’s biggest competition this year comes from 23 year old, Erling Haaland, who played an integral role in leading Manchester City to winning the Champions League, as well as a continental treble, including the Premier League.
While Messi’s recent move over the summer to the MLS by joining Inter Miami has revitalized his performance at the club level, it is outside of the scope of measurement for the 2023 Ballon d’Or. Messi’s final season in PSG, to no fault of his own, ended rather unceremoniously, and while his role as playmaker and facilitator was still largely important, it can be argued as less impressive than the individual season Haaland delivered in the Premier League, where he broke the League’s all-time scoring record in a single season, with 36 goals to go along with the team accolades he won with Manchester City. On the flip side, I believe Messi does have a strong argument over Haaland, if we look at the statistics with some context. Without Haaland, Manchester City certainly does not look the same; however, you can easily see a world where they perform similarly as a unit in terms of competitive success domestically, as well as in the Champions League. I have a hard time believing Argentina’s 2022 World Cup Squad would have had the same level of success without their team captain, and in many ways, the emotional and tangible focal point of the entire team, Lionel Messi.
Whether Messi goes on to win a record-extending 8th Ballon d’Or, or Haaland wins his first, or maybe even a potential Julian Alvarez win(who played a role in both Argentina’s World Cup Win and Manchester City’s Champions League win), however unlikely that may be, I only hope that we, as football fans, will be able to recognize and appreciate the football history we witnessed over the past 12 months.
