Erling Haaland told to snub Ballon d’Or ceremony forever if Lionel Messi wins 2023 award

Erling Haaland has been told he would miss the Ballon d’Or ceremony forever if Lionel Messi won the award later this year.

On Wednesday, the Ballon d’Or announced the list of 30 finalists for the annual gong. The winner will be announced in Paris on October 30th. It should be noted that five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo, who suffered a disappointing performance in Qatar before moving to the Saudi Pro League in January, is off the list for the first time in 20 years.

However, his longtime rival Messi, who has won the award seven times, is already the overwhelming favorite for the top prize. Although the 36-year-old joined MLS after a disappointing two-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain, he capped a trophy-filled career by guiding Argentina to victory at the World Cup in December.

Haaland is likely to be Messi’s closest rival, who scored an impressive 52 goals and won the treble in his debut season for Manchester City. The Norway international is one of seven City players on the 30-man shortlist.

And former Chelsea and Scotland midfielder Craig Burley insisted that should Haaland miss out on the award to Messi, the 23-year-old should snub the ceremony for the rest of his career.

“If Erling Haaland doesn’t win this, close the shop,” Burley told ESPN.

“Lionel Messi won the World Cup and it’s a great achievement, but it’s a four-week period. His general league form was not the best. PSG were terrible.

“Erling Haaland? Over 50 goals, a Premier League title, the FA Cup, and the Champions League. Erling Haaland should win this award. I know that a lot of people out there can’t get off the Messi bandwagon but look at the bigger picture.

“There’s going to be a lot of muppet journos voting for Messi. The big picture here is that Erling Haaland achieved everything over a long period of time.

“This award, like a few awards, drives me nuts but he’s the one that deserves it but I think out there it will be full of sentimental claptrap – Messi won the World Cup, Messi’s this and Messi’s that, and they will just hand him another one.

“And if I was Erling Haaland, I would never go back to another Ballon d’Or in my life, same as Robert Lewandowski.”