Kyle Walker has said that he feels fellow Manchester City star Erling Haaland should win the Ballon d’Or ahead of Lionel Messi.
Haaland and Messi are two of the nominees in this year’s Ballon d’Or, which also has the likes of Josko Gvardiol, Bernardo Silva, Julian Alvarez and Kevin De Bruyne listed among the potential winners.
With the winner set to be announced in Monday’s ceremony, one City player, who hasn’t been nominated for the award, has shared his thoughts on who should be the one to lift the trophy.
Walker backs Haaland to win the Ballon d’Or
Speaking in a recent video shared on the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel, Walker had this to say after choosing Haaland as the player he feels should win the Ballon d’Or.
He said: “It’s probably a toss-up between him and Messi, but I just feel that with the records that he set last year, the amount of goals for someone to produce that amount of goals and then for us to go on and win the treble.
“But Messi, how he handled the World Cup and the pressure on him at the World Cup as well. I think it’s a toss of a coin but I’d have to go with Erling just for the club side of it.”
Across his debut season at the Etihad Stadium, Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games across all competitions, winning the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Champions League.
Having also broken numerous records, as Walker mentioned, including scoring more Premier League goals in a 38-game campaign than any other player, this further highlights why the right-back thinks the striker deserves to be named as this year’s Ballon d’Or winner.
Moving forward, regardless of whether or not Haaland ends up winning the prestigious award on Monday, his main focus should be on doing the best he can for his side on the pitch.
