On Monday, Lionel Messi picked up a record eighth Ballon d’Or, beating out Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe to the award. It came off the back of an incredible 2022 World Cup, in which he guided Argentina to glory.
However, not everyone felt that Messi was a deserved winner of the Ballon d’Or. Spanish journalist Tomas Roncero disagreed, and it appeared that Cristiano Ronald was in agreement with Roncero’s standpoint. Now, German icon Lothar Matthaus has called the decision a “farce”, as per Marca.
Angel Di Maria, international teammate and long-time friend of Messi, has responded to Matthaus’ remarks with jest.
“What a way for people to cry.”
There’s no doubt that the decision to award Messi to Ballon d’Or has been a contentious one, although it was still deserved. Equally, had Haaland or Mbappe won, it would also have been deserved. In the end, it went to the Barcelona icon.
