Lionel Messi vs. Erling Haaland: Brazil Legend Ronaldo Makes Ballon d'Or Pick

The 2023 Ballon d'Or debate has begun as people are divided on who should win. Argentina's Lionel Messi or Norway's Erling Haaland? Brazil legend Ronaldo weighs in.

On the one hand, we have Erling Haaland, who, despite his young age, is dominating one of the toughest leagues in the world, the English Premier League, winning its title, the FA Cup, and even won the UEFA Champion's League trophy for Manchester City.

On the other hand, we have Lionel Messi. The Argentina captain, who recently announced he is retiring from the World Cup, finally won the vaunted title on his last try last year. Despite being eliminated in the Champions League early, Messi also helped deliver a back-to-back Ligue-1 title victory for Paris Saint-Germaine, as well as putting out solid numbers for the team that eventually booed him and booted him off.

Brazil legend Ronaldo, not to be confused with Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, stated that it was his fellow South American who deserved to win the Ballon d'Or more.

"Messi deserves to win the Ballon d'Or. I think he will be crowned. He won the World Cup, which is a very big tournament," said the Brazilian in a recent interview, according to the Hindustan Times.

Kylian Mbappe Defends Lionel Messi, Tells Off French Fans Who Booed Argentina Legend

Meanwhile, back in Paris, Messi's former teammate and once-World Cup rival Kylian Mbappe rushed to Messi's aid after he was booed by French fans and heavily criticized by the French media after announcing his move to Inter Miami.

Messi's contract expires with Paris Saint-Germaine by the end of June, which means that he and Mbappe are still technically teammates. However, Messi will indeed be leaving Paris for Miami, and the French media did not like that decision, despite it getting obvious that Messi was unhappy in Paris with the treatment he had been getting.

"We're talking about potentially the best player in the history of football. It's never good news when someone like Messi leaves," Mbappe said in an interview. "Personally I haven't really understood why so many people were relieved that he was leaving. We're talking about Messi, he should be respected - but instead, he didn't get the respect he deserved in France. It's a shame, but that's how it went. He'll have to be replaced as best as possible."

According to 90Min, it is also unclear whether Mbappe will be staying with PSG or moving to a more competitive league. On Monday, he reportedly told PSG that he would not be activating an extension clause in his contract, which expires in 2024.

Lionel Messi Points Out to China Hypocrisy of One China Policy and Gets Away With It

Before his move to Miami, Lionel Messi was in China to play for Argentina in an exhibition game. However, he ran into visa troubles as it turned out that he needed a visa to enter the country.

Messi pointed out that he can enter Taiwan without a visa, so if Taiwan is China, why should he still need a visa to enter? Eventually, he was let into the country and played for World Cup champions Argentina.

According to Yahoo! News, some people pointed out that "Who would've thought it'd be Messi that points out the hypocrisy of the CCP's One China policy?"

READ MORE: Lionel Messi Height Shows Big Things Come in Small Packages

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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