Holland won several titles last season (Frank Fife/Agence France-Presse)
Former Inter Milan legend German Lothar Matthäus believes Erling Haaland deserves the Ballon d’Or ahead of Argentina star Lionel Messi, current Inter Miami, Barcelona and former French Paris Saint-Germain player.
The former Inter and Germany star, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1990, was not happy to see Messi win the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career on Monday.
The 62-year-old told German channel Sky: “Holland has been better than Messi all year. This award is not deserved and it proves that the World Cup is more important than anything else.”
He added, “For me, nobody is better than Holland. He’s been the best in the last 12 months. He’s won important titles with Manchester City, scored a record number of goals. I’ve always been a joke. A Messi fan.”
Matthews won the Ballon d’Or after his country, West Germany, won the Italy 1990 edition in a final loss to Argentina led by Diego Armando Maradona. The former Nerazzurri star scored 53 goals in 153 appearances. Nerazuri between 1988 and 1992.
He won the Italian league title in the 1988–1989 season and the European Cup (now the Europa League) in the 1990–1991 season.
“Explorer. Problem solver. Certified reader. Incurable web expert. Subtly charming travel guru. General student. Twitter evangelist.”