‘The winner is…. Lionel Messi’. The pause might of being for dramatic effect, but it could well have been for shock. Nobody expected the Argentine to retain the FIFA Best Award for 2023, after season which by any normal standards was excellent, but at the very top of the game, was nowhere near the standards Erling Haaland set.
The Norwegian not only spearheaded Manchester City‘s charge to the Premier League and Champions League, but also outscored his peers, registering 52 goals and 9 assists in his 53 appearances. Yet the failure to collect the FIFA Award, voted for by captains and managers of countries around the world began a conversation in the Haaland camp.
They feel that he would have picked up the award had he been at a ‘club like Real Madrid’, say Diario AS. The feeling is that even if he did manage to repeat such an exceptional season, then he needs to be at a side like that in order to secure the individual awards. The report goes on to detail that a ‘member of Haaland’s family’ calls Real Madrid every week too.
Los Blancos believe that they could secure the signing of Haaland for closer to €100m than €200m, and have set Jude Bellingham on the task of convincing his former Borussia Dortmund teammate that the Spanish capital is the ony place to be.
While sources in Madrid maintain there is money for both Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, it seems utopian to imagine both arriving in the same summer. Ultimately, Mbappe’s future is likely to disctate many more this summer, and Haaland, for as good as he is, may find himself hanging on the Frenchman’s big decision too.