As featured on NewsNow: Football news

Arsenal legend Henry: Why it must be Messi over Haaland for the Ballon d'Or

Arsenal legend Thierry Henry says Argentina's World Cup winning captain Lionel Messi should win the Ballon d'Or.

On Monday, the Ballon d'Or will be awarded for the 67th time. Messi is favourite to win the award - for the eighth time.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has stated Erling Haaland deserves the award considering the team's Treble last season.

Henry, who played with Messi at Barcelona, however says: "Many people can debate it, but if you win the World Cup, like he did... we can talk about what happened in the final. As a Frenchman, I was a little disappointed with how it ended, but you can't say that it's not well-deserved if he wins the award.

"Many can argue that Man City players, Haaland and some other players, can also say: 'Why not me?', but you cannot say that it is not right if he (Messi) wins. If you look at the history, I think of Lewandowski, they decided to say that the Ballon d'Or will not be awarded (because of the pandemic), but football was played. Why didn't the guy win his Ballon d'Or?"

Video of the day:

About the author

Paul Vegas

Have your say
×

Subscribe and go ad-free

For only $10 a year

  1. Go Ad-Free
  2. Faster site experience
  3. Support great writing
  4. Subscribe now
Launch Offer: 2 months free
×

Subscribe and go ad-free

For only $10 a year

Subscribe now
Launch Offer: 2 months free