Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe or Erling Haaland? Race for 2023 Ballon d'Or 'very, very tight', says France Football's chief editor
France Football editor-in-chief Vincent Garcia has confirmed that the fight between Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, and Erling Haaland for the 2023 Ballon d'Or award is extremely tight.
Messi and Haaland are widely considered frontrunners for the prestigious individual honor being handed out since 1956.
Speaking ahead of the event set to take place on Monday (October 30), Garcia said referring to the aforementioned trio (via Telefoot):
"It’s tight this year… It’s very, very tight."
Should Messi claim the award this year, it would be his eighth Ballon d'Or title, putting him three ahead of arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo. Many consider that the 36-year-old's performance in the World Cup last year is sufficient for him to take home the prize.
Leading his country to World Cup success, Messi bagged seven goals and three assists in the tournament, winning the Golden Ball for the best player in the competition.
Meanwhile, one cannot look past Haaland's contributions to Manchester City's treble-winning season. He moved to the Etihad from Borussia Dortmund last summer for a fee of £51.2 million.
After joining Pep Guardiola's side, the striker bagged 36 goals from 35 appearances in the Premier League. He also netted 12 goals from 11 matches in the Champions League last season.
Mbappe, who bagged 41 goals and 10 assists for Paris Saint-Germain in the 2022-23 season won the Golden Boot (eight goals) at the FIFA World Cup, helping France reach the tournament's final.
It will be interesting to see who wins the award at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris tonight.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola unable to pick between Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland for 2023 Ballon d'Or
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was unable to choose between striker Erling Haaland and Inter Miami attacker Lionel Messi when asked for his opinion on this year's Ballon d'Or winner.
Guardiola's comments came soon after Manchester City completed a comfortable 3-0 win against local rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.
He said (via Fabrizio Romano):
"The Ballon d'Or? I have great affection for both Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. If Messi wins, it will be a fair win because of the World Cup, and if Haaland wins, it will be fair to the season he had. They should give two awards this year, they both deserve to win."
Haaland got the scoresheet twice during the aforementioned game, netting from the spot (26'), which was followed up by a simple-headed goal after the break (49'). He's already scored 11 league goals from 10 appearances this season.