Lionel Messi's Ballon d'Or win slammed with "inferior" Erling Haaland claim
Retired French footballer Jerome Rothen has blasted Lionel Messi's latest Ballon d'Or win a "disgrace", in a scathing rant against the Argentinian World Cup winner.
The former Paris Saint-Germain winger believes that Manchester City striker Erling Haaland should have won the award instead, following a season that made Messi appear "inferior" in comparison.
Messi's latest individual achievement saw him lift the prestigious award at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris for the eighth time in his illustrious career. The 36-year-old has won the award more times than any other footballer, with only Cristiano Ronaldo coming close on five wins while playing at Manchester United and Real Madrid.
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In the days leading up to the ceremony it was revealed that Messi would be the likely recipient of this year's award following a stellar season. The forward helped guide Argentina to a historic World Cup win in Qatar before joining MLS side Inter Miami.
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Haaland, who finished second in the rankings, lifted an unprecedented treble - the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup - and scored 52 goals in all competitions in the process.
The striker also scored 36 goals in 35 Premier League games last season, breaking Andy Cole and Alan Shearer's record of 34 goals in the 42-game season.
Messi's Ballon d'Or win has been called a "disgrace" (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)And these achievements have since caused Rothen to hit out at Messi's win with a brutal assessment. "It's a disgrace! Of course it's a disgrace," he said via RMC Sport's Rothen s'enflamme. "As far as I'm concerned, it should have gone to Haaland. From August 2022 to June 2023, what criteria lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others?
"There's hardly any criterion where he's number 1. If we look at his record, he's inferior to Haaland, even though he won the World Cup. Haaland won everything with Manchester City. And of course you can't compare him with the World Cup, because Haaland is Norwegian."
Rothen went on to add that Messi wasn't even the best player at PSG during his two year spell at the club which saw him play alongside Neymar and Kylian Mbappe - who finished third in this year's rankings.
"At PSG, Messi wasn't above the rest, he wasn't the best player at the club. It's problematic that a guy who's won the Ballon d'Or, who's supposed to be the best player in the world, isn't even the best player at his club.
"My journalist friends [the voters], for the last three or four years, Messi hasn't been the best player in the world. You have to stop being delirious! And over the last four years, he's won two Ballon d'Or awards. So for me, it's shameful. I'm hallucinating."
Following the ceremony Messi has since returned to Miami where he was greeted by his teammates. Players including former Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba presented the 36-year-old with a golden number eight cut-out and welcomed the star with a guard of honour.
Messi is set for an extended break away from football with Inter Miami failing to reach the MLS playoffs. While Haaland will be back in action on Saturday (November 4) when Manchester City face Bournemouth in the Premier League.
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