Who will win Ballon D’or battle? Messi or Haaland?

On Wednesday, Lionel Messi, who guided Argentina to victory in the World Cup last December, was included in the list of 30 nominees for the prestigious award, alongside Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé. For the first time since 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo, a five-time winner, did not make the list.

The recipient of the award will be announced in Paris on October 30. France Football magazine has been presenting this award to men since 1956 and to women since 2018, with Ada Hegerberg being the first female winner.

Ada Hegerberg.

UEFA Women's Champions League winner. Three times.

First female ever to win the #BallondOr.

Being asked about twerking.

Blatant sexism in 2018.pic.twitter.com/SnkKxoRNhG

— DW Sports (@dw_sports) December 3, 2018

However, both editions were canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic. Among the nominees, Aitana Bonmati, who was recently honored as the UEFA women’s player of the year, is one of the six female nominees from Spain, many of whom were part of the Women’s World Cup-winning team.

Among the male nominees, Haaland is among seven players from Manchester City. Additionally, last year’s recipient, Karim Benzema, has been nominated again. On the women’s side, two-time winner Alexia Putellas did not make the list this year, primarily due to her extended absence last year resulting from an ACL injury.

Realistically, World Champion Lionel Messi and Europe’s most prolific goal scorer last season, Erling Haaland lead as the front runners to win the highest rated individual award in Football.

If we compare both of their numbers then Haaland has the upper hand on the former Barcelona man. The Man City Number 9 scored staggering 52 goals and provided 9 assists in just 53 games. He also won the UEFA Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and dozens of other individual awards.

Messi on the other hand scored 21 goals and provided 20 assists for PSG last year in 41 appearances. Most importantly he won the FIFA World Cup 2022 at Qatar where he also won the Golden ball for best player for the 2nd time in his career and first since the 2014 edition.

It is being predicted that Messi will possibly edge over Haaland because of the World cup factor. But if it happens, it could go down as the biggest snub in the Ballon D’or ceremony. It will all be clear on 30th of October when the award ceremony takes place.