Kylian Mbappe has given his thoughts on Lionel Messi's eighth Ballon d'Or win, with the
Argentine winning the prestigious award last month after his exploits for Argentina at
the World Cup
Kylian Mbappe has admitted Lionel Messi 'deserved' to win the Ballon d'Or
after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar.
Messi scored seven goals during
the tournament, including a brace in the final, as Argentina beat France 4-2 on
penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra time. As a result, Messi won a record
extending eighth Ballon d'Or last month.
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland
finished second behind Messi after firing Pep Guardiola's side to a historic treble
with 52 goals across all competitions. Mbappe, meanwhile, came in third after finishing
as the World Cup's top scorer.
And when asked about Messi's Ballon d'Or win while on
international duty with France, Mbappe replied: "I am not scared that it [the award]
has escaped me. Messi deserves it.
"In the evening of the 18th [December 2024], I knew
he'd won the World Cup and the Ballon d'Or. I had a great season, like Haaland, but
when you win the World Cup, that makes the difference."
However, some have criticised
Messi's win with former Norwegian international Gunnar Halle claiming Haaland "probably
should have won". Speaking to Mirror Football earlier this month, Halle said: "He won
the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Champions League and scored almost 60 goals – I’m
not sure what else he could have done!
"He was fantastic but I think people were
expecting Messi to win it. They hoped that Erling would, but because of the World Cup I
think it was always going to be Messi. I'm not sure that anyone in Norway was too
surprised.
Image: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) Pascal Le Segretain/Getty
Images)
"Erling's statistics are incredible, and the way he has been scoring and the
competitions he has won, he probably should have won. But there you go. That happens
sometimes. But it certainly won’t change the way that people feel about
him.
"Everywhere you look there are Manchester City shirts with his name on the back.
Before they would have beenManchester Unitedshirts – you don't see that anymore!
There's an expectation on him when he plays for Norway, of course there is. But he can
cope with that.
"In fact, he can cope with everything. With him and (Martin) Odegaard
on the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or, there's real hope for the future. And the Ballon
d'Or? Don't worry, Erling will win it next season."
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