Lionel Messi set to compete with Erling Haaland and several others in race to win Champions League award this season
Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are among the nominees for the UEFA Champions League goal of the season. Apart from the duo, Kylian Mbappe is also among the nominees.
UEFA recently released their shortlist for the best Champions League goal of the season. Karim Adeyemi's goal against Chelsea, Rodri's strike against Bayern Munich, and Mbappe's strike against Juventus are among the nominees. Kevin De Bruyne's scorcher against Real Madrid and Vinicius Junior's spectacular goal against Manchester City are also among the nominees.
Alejandro Grimaldo's goal against Maccabi Haifa, Darwin Nunez's cheeky finish against Real Madrid, Haaland's goal against Dortmund, and Lionel Messi's strike against Benfica are the other nominees.
Manchester City won the Champions League this season by defeating Inter Milan in the final at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul by a score of 1-0 on June 10. The triumph marked the Premier League club's first-ever UCL.
Messi's PSG, meanwhile, were eliminated from the round of 16 after suffering a 3-0 aggregate defeat across two legs against Bayern Munich.
Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are in the running for the Ballon d'Or 2023
Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are among the favorites to win the Ballon d'Or this season. The Norwegian was at the forefront of Manchester City's treble-winning campaign.
He scored 52 goals across competitions this term, including a Premier League record 36, and 12 in the UEFA Champions League. The 22-year-old was phenomenal in his first season at Manchester City.
Messi, meanwhile, had an underwhelming campaign for PSG, scoring 20 and setting up 21 in 41 matches across competitions. However, he played a starring role in helping Argentina win the 2022 FIFA World Cup by scoring seven goals and providing three assists.
Lionel Messi recently said about the Ballon d'Or 2023 (via @AlbicelesteTalk Twitter):
“Does the Ballon d'Or matter to me? No, it's no longer important to me. I've always said, the individual prizes are not what matters to me, but the collective ones are the most important. The most important prize at the moment is the World Cup, the greatest prize for me.”
Fans will certainly keep a keen eye on who lifts the individual honor this season. Karim Benzema is the current holder of the Ballon d'Or award.