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Norway coach Stale Solbakken has made a curious prediction on who he thinks will win the prestigious Ballon d’Or Award
Norway coach Stale Solbakken believes Lionel Messi will win the Ballon d’Or Award ahead of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe who are the other major contenders.
Solbakken has two of his players in Manchester City’s Haaland and Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard in the 30-man shortlist for this year’s Ballon d’Or but he does not think any of them can beat the Argentina legend who is in line for a record-extending eighth award.
“It will most likely be between Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling (Haaland). Then there are also the outsiders just below them,” Solbakken told the media, as reported by Norwegian outlet Bold.
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14:13 - 07.09.2023
FOOTBALL Marcus Rashford: Why Manchester United forward deserved a spot on 30-man Ballon d’Or shortlist
While he did not do enough to be considered a Ballon d’Or contender, Rashford’s numbers in 2022-23 should have earned him a place on the initial shortlist at the expense of many others.
“If you ask me who I think will win, I will say that Messi will win it because of the World Cup triumph. It always has an impact. Mbappé was there too.
“Erling has top scorer titles, he broke records and won 'Player of the Year' in every category in England, plus he won the Champions League.”
Messi led Argentina to the 2022 World Cup trophy while also winning the French Ligue 1 title, scoring 32 goals while providing 25 assists and is hot favourite to claim another award.
He has won it in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019 and 2021 with only Cristiano Ronaldo, who has five, and Karim Benzema, the 2022 winner, denying him in the last 13 years.
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15:21 - 06.09.2023
Lionel Messi: Argentina captain emerges as clear favourite to win Ballon d’Or ahead of Erling Haaland
Lionel Messi is currently the odds-on favourite to win the upcoming Ballon d'Or.
Meanwhile, Haaland, who was recently crowned Premier League Player of the Year, scored 52 goals, and added nine assists as Manchester City won the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup while Mbappe claimed the Ligue 1 title and reached the World Cup final with France, having netted 41 goals while providing 10 assists.
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