Huge 'Scandal' Could Stem From Messi's Eighth Ballon d'Or Win

Lionel Messi has won a record seven Ballon d'Or awards and if he wins again this year, it would be a "scandal", according to a Premier League player.

Messi captained Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last year, with the talented forward winning the Golden Ball after scoring seven goals in the process. Apart from this, Messi did not have any other outstanding performances in the 2022-23 season and left Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on a free transfer at the end of the campaign.

Michail Antonio, who plays for West Ham United, said that if Messi wins the Ballon d'Or award over treble winner Erling Haaland, it would result in a controversy around France Football, who are already in a precarious situation because of reports around leaked results of the prestigious award.

"If you take away international football and compare statistically... Haaland should win the award. You can't look past Messi winning his first World Cup as it's a big contributing factor, but club football-wise he's been playing in America which is very different to Haaland in the Premier League.

"I understand Messi winning the World Cup is massive, but you can't look past a treble-winning team and what Haaland bought to that, breaking records. He deserves that Ballon d'Or. If he doesn't get it then it's a scandal," added Antonio.

Ever since leaks about Messi's victory began circulating, several football fans have taken to social media to express that they believe Haaland is the more deserving candidate.

"Probably an unpopular opinion but I think Messi does not deserve to win the Ballon d'Or for the following reasons. 1. He was poor at PSG. 2. He had a decent World Cup but Mbappe performed better," wrote a user on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Another user pointed out that if the Ballon d'Or was handed to a player who had won the World Cup, then why did Messi win in 2010 ahead of his Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta, who had won the world title with Spain?

Haaland, in his maiden campaign with Manchester City, broke multiple records, including the most goals in a single Premier League season (36). He added a further 16 in all competitions, with the Norwegian forward ending the campaign with the treble as City won the Champions League, FA Cup and the Premier League.

City boss Pep Guardiola, who managed Messi at Barcelona, also insisted that Haaland should win the Ballon d'Or this year.

"Haaland should win - Yes. We won the treble and he scored 50 million goals," said Guardiola, who experienced one of his best stints as manager at Barcelona with Messi.

Meanwhile, France Football editor-in-chief Pascal Ferré, has denied that news about Messi winning the Ballon d'Or award is true. "That's a lot of bullsh*t we've seen in the last ten days. A big bluff," Ferré said.