Jerome Rothen, a Paris Saint-Germain legend, has criticized Lionel Messi’s recent Ballon d’Or win, deeming it “shameful.” Messi, who is 36 years old and now plays for Inter Miami, clinched his eighth Ballon d’Or at a ceremony in Paris on Monday. The award was presented to him for his role in leading Argentina to World Cup victory and his contributions to Paris Saint Germain’s Ligue 1 triumph.
In a highly competitive race, Messi outperformed Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to claim the prestigious accolade. Haaland was Messi’s primary contender, having scored an impressive 52 goals for Manchester City last season, helping the team secure the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup titles.
Despite Messi’s pivotal role in Argentina’s World Cup win after a 36-year wait, Rothen believes that Haaland was more deserving of the Ballon d’Or due to his exceptional performance with Manchester City.
Rothen expressed his discontent with the award on his RMC Sport show, titled ‘Rothen catches fire,’ stating, “It’s disgraceful! Of course it’s disgraceful. As far as I’m concerned, it should have gone to Haaland. From August 2022 to June 2023, what criteria lead us to say that Leo Messi is above the others? There’s hardly any criterion where he’s number one.”
“If we look at his record, he’s inferior to Haaland, even though he won the World Cup. Haaland won everything with Manchester City. And of course you can’t compare him with the World Cup, because Haaland is Norwegian.”
“At PSG, Messi wasn’t above the rest, he wasn’t the best player at the club. It’s problematic that a guy who’s won the Ballon d’Or, who’s supposed to be the best player in the world, isn’t even the best player at his club. You have to stop being delirious! And over the last four years, he’s won two Ballon d’Or awards. So for me, it’s disgraceful. I’m hallucinating.”
Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or victory is anticipated to be his final one, following his summer move to Miami. Next year’s Ballon d’Or is expected to be a tight competition, with Mbappe, Haaland, and Jude Bellingham, who received the Kopa Trophy for the best young player on Monday night, all being strong contenders.
At the ceremony in Paris, Haaland was honoured with the Gerd Muller Trophy for the best striker. Nevertheless, Rothen firmly believes that Haaland should have been awarded the primary honour, asserting, “I’m told that this Ballon d’Or must be given credibility? But there’s no credibility left!”
In response to the acclaim, Messi commended Haaland and the other nominees, saying, “(I) want to share this with my international team-mates.”
“Thank the entire group the coaching staff. Hats off to Kylian, Erling and Kevin too. You guys are very young and you have achieved so much already so plenty of time left. Delighted to be here to enjoy this one more time. To win the World Cup was to achieve my dream.”
“I would like to mention my wife, who has been with me through thick and thin. I’d like to thank Diego (Maradona). I want to say happy birthday to Diego, it would have been his birthday today. It is always special to be recognised.”
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini
This season he played in total 6 times for 372 minutes for Major League Soccer.
Lionel Messi scored 1 goal for Inter Miami. He procured twice assists. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 14th in Major League Soccer. In the last match Inter Miami lost 1-0 against Charlotte.
Inter Miami performance and stats
Inter Miami is currently 14th in the Major League Soccer with 34 points.
In the last 34 games, it has won 9 times, drawn 7 times, and lost 18 times. In its last match, Inter Miami lost 1-0 against Charlotte.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 41 goals and conceding 54.
Erling Haaland
Erling Håland
This season he played in total 10 times for 890 minutes for Premier League.
Erling Haaland scored 10 goals for Manchester City. He procured twice assists. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.
His team is currently 3rd in Premier League. In the last match Manchester City won 3-0 against Manchester United. The next match in Premier League will be against AFC Bournemouth.
Manchester City performance and stats
Manchester City is currently 3rd in the Premier League with 24 points.
In the last 10 games, it has won 8 times and lost twice. In its last match, Manchester City won 0-3 against Manchester United.
It has a positive goal difference after scoring 22 goals and conceding 7.
Manchester City will play the next match in Premier League against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday 4th of November in Manchester. The prediction is Manchester City winning the match.