Manchester City No.9 Erling Haaland now looks set to miss out on the Ballon d’Or to Lionel Messi.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Argentina international is expected to win his eighth Ballon d’Or after lifting the World Cup in December.
The official decision will be made on Monday night in Paris.
With Erling Haaland now looking likely to miss out on the Ballon d’Or, let’s take a look at how much this decision could cost the Manchester City No.9 in terms of bonus payments…
What’s the story?
Well – according to The Sun – the Norway international will lose out on £1m if Messi does win the Ballon d’Or on Monday.
Haaland was awarded £1m for winning the Premier League and another £1m for lifting the UEFA Champions League, while the 23-year-old picked up a further £350,000 after winning the FA Cup.
However, the Leeds-born striker is now set to miss out on another £1m payment as Messi allegedly beats him to the Ballon d’Or.
Haaland remarkably scored 52 goals in just 53 appearances last season as Manchester City won a historic treble, while the Norwegian also provided nine assists.
The Manchester City No.9 also set a new record for most goals in a 38-game Premier League campaign with 36 goals, beating Mohamed Salah’s total of 32 from the 2017/18 season.
Haaland also won the UEFA Champions League Golden Boot with 12 goals in 11 appearances.
Haaland should be furious
If we were in Haaland’s shoes, we would not be happy to hear about Messi emerging as the favourite for the Ballon d’Or.
Of course, winning the World Cup is a special achievement, and the South American delivered seven truly stunning performances in Qatar to bring glory back to Argentina.
However, Messi didn’t exactly have the best season with PSG domestically, only lifting the Ligue 1 title before fans turned on him and Inter Miami offered a new adventure.
Haaland won the treble – yes, the treble – scoring 52 goals along the way.
In our view, there is no argument to be had, although the football world has clearly voted for Messi to have a romantic ending to his career at the highest level with this eighth Ballon d’Or win.
