Spanish press are now claiming that Lionel Messi has caused Erling Haaland to consider an exit from Manchester City.
It was Diario AS who made the claim.
So, how has Lionel Messi caused Erling Haaland to consider his Manchester City future? Let’s take a look…
Spanish press claim Messi has got into the mind of Haaland
Well – according to Diario AS – the Norway international and his entourage began talking about the need to leave Manchester City for Real Madrid after seeing the Argentine win the Ballon d’Or.
The Spanish news outlet explain how Haaland spoke to his inner circle about ways to get the spotlight on him – with a move to Real Madrid described as an appropriate way to achieve that.
Diario AS add that the Norwegian and his family believe he would have won the Ballon d’Or if he enjoyed the exact same season – albeit in a Real Madrid shirt.
Haaland lost out on the prestigious award to Messi despite remarkably scoring 52 goals in 53 appearances throughout the 2022/23 campaign, while also winning the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League.
The Argentina international – however – finally lifted the FIFA World Cup, which appeared to swing things in favour of the South American.
Manchester City fans surely smell nonsense
In our view, this is a very farfetched story.
The Ballon d’Or came down to votes – as revealed by Alfie Haaland, who told Diario AS: “It’s fair because it was through a voting system. There was actually a tie at 48 points, with Mbappe on 35, but the Argentine gathered more votes from national team captains, so, it’s fair, yes.”
Therefore – given Messi’s immense popularity and remarkable 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign – it feels unlikely that Haaland would have won the Ballon d’Or regardless of the club he was playing for.
In our view, this is just another attempt from the Spanish press to whip up speculation involving the Manchester City No.9 and Real Madrid – after another story from this part of the world boldly claimed that the £375,000-a-week striker would leave for the Santiago Bernabeu tomorrow if he could.
