Ballon d’Or 2023: Haaland told to snub award if Messi wins again

<p>Former Chelsea midfielder, Craig Burley, has told Manchester City’s Erling Haaland to snub the Ballon d’Or ceremony for life if he doesn’t win this year’s award.</p>, <p>Haaland has been included in the 30-man shortlist for the prize, which will be handed out in Paris on October 30.</p>, <p>Inter Miami superstar, Lionel Messi, who has already won the award seven times, is believed to be favourite to take it home again.</p>, <p>The 36-year-old capped his trophy-laden career with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last December.</p>, <p>However, Burley believes Haaland should win it.</p>, <p>“This award, like a few awards, drives me nuts but he’s the one that deserves it but I think out there it will be full of sentimental claptrap – Messi won the World Cup, Messi’s this and Messi’s that, and they will just hand him another one.</p>, <p>“And if I was Erling Haaland, I would never go back to another Ballon d’Or in my life, same as Robert Lewandowski,” Burley said on ESPN.</p>