Haaland’s nomination for the prestigious award comes on the heels of his remarkable 52-goal performance during Manchester City’s triumphant campaign.

However, City’s manager, Guardiola, has consistently expressed his belief that Lionel Messi, his former star at Barcelona who led Argentina to a World Cup victory in 2022, is the finest player he has ever coached.

Guardiola’s perspective is that the Ballon d’Or should ideally be divided into two categories: one for Messi and another for the rest.

Guardiola explained, “I always said that the Ballon d’Or had to be of two sections – one for Messi and one for the others.”

“Haaland should win. We won the treble because he scored 52 goals but, of course, Messi – his worst season is the best of most players. Both deserve it.”

“Egotistically, I would say I want Erling because he helped us to achieve what we achieved, I would love it, but I won’t tell you it’s unfair if Leo wins.”

“It’s nice that many players for Man City will be there for the first time in many years and challenging for these trophies. That makes us so proud for our organisation.”

Manchester City, the reigning champions, are eager to return to winning ways in the Premier League following losses to Wolves and Arsenal just before the international break.

However, they faced a challenging task against Brighton at the Etihad Stadium as they successfully accomplished a narrow win of 2-1.

Guardiola has been impressed by Brighton’s progress under manager Roberto De Zerbi and commended their continued strong performances, even after the departures of players like Alexis Mac Allister and Levi Colwill.

Guardiola emphasized, “He’s converting Brighton into a top club. (Alexis) Mac Allister and (Levi) Colwill have gone but they continue to play at a good level.”

“Last season was really good too. They qualified for Europe and but for some decisions against them in the last games they could fight to be champions.”

“It is one of the toughest tests we have this season and we are going to try and go for it.”

Regarding City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who has struggled for playing time under Guardiola, there is speculation about a potential January departure.

Guardiola didn’t rule out this possibility and noted, “The transfer window is over, now we are here together. When we need a game with transitions or games with something with chaos Kalvin is perfect.”

“When there is something you need to do, there are still one or two players who can do it better. That’s the simple reason.”

“He will be here until winter. After, I don’t know what will happen because nobody knows once the window is open.”

Guardiola stressed the importance of Rodri’s return to the team this weekend after the influential Spanish midfielder served a recent suspension due to a three-match ban incurred following an incident with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White.

Guardiola commented, “Rodri has to learn. We have to control our emotions and stand up and go. I’m pretty sure he will learn.”

Erling Haaland

This season he played in total twice for 180 minutes for Champions League.

Erling Haaland didn’t score any goal for Manchester City. He procured one assist. He received no yellow cards and no red cards.

His team is currently 1st in Champions League. In the last match Manchester City won 2-1 against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Manchester City performance and stats

Manchester City is currently 1st in the Champions League with 6 points.

It has a positive goal difference after scoring 6 goals and conceding 2.​

Manchester City will play the next match in Champions League against Young Boys on Wednesday 25th of October in Bern. The prediction is Manchester City winning the match.​

Lionel Messi

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.​

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

The post Pep Guardiola endorses Erling Haaland for Ballon d’Or while he competes with Lionel Messi, with a surprising twist appeared first on Soccer Tonic.