talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan has had his say on Lionel Messi winning the Ballon d’Or, as he believes Messi wasnt the deserving winner.

Questioning the awards decision making, Jordan asked whether the Ballon d’Or is won on individual games or over an entire season, as many believe Messi winning this award is down to his World Cup performances, and winning the competition.

Jordan spoke on the brilliance of Erling Haaland, scoring a record amount of goals for Manchester City and winning a treble, saying in previous years this would have won the award.

His final words stated he felt it was more like “a lifetime award” rather than him being the best player in the world for that year.

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“Does the world revolve around Messi?!” ?

“You can rock up to a World Cup, and win the Ballon d’Or? Is that the criteria?!” ?

Simon Jordan breaks down why Messi DIDN’T deserve to win the #BallonDor pic.twitter.com/8H6dICWZj0

— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) October 31, 2023

Messi won the Ballon d’Or, with Haaland finishing 2nd, Kylian Mbappe finishing third, Kevin de Bruyne in 4th and Rodri in 5th.

The Argentinian led his country to a World Cup triumph, scoring seven goals and providing three assists in the competition.

Meanwhile Haaland finished the 2022/23 season with 52 goals in 53 appearances, providing nine assists and helping Manchester City win a treble (Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League).

Mbappe also had a great year, winning the World Cup golden boot with eight goals (scoring a hattrick in the final), and scoring 41 goals in 43 games for PSG, also providing 10 assists.

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Erling Haaland was asked to pick between a Gary Lineker or Didier Drogba celebration after he scored his next goal.

The Norwegian striker failed to win the Ballon d’Or on Monday night after Lionel Messi picked up his record eighth.

But Haaland didn’t go home empty-handed, he was given the Gerd Muller Trophy for the best striker of the year after his treble-winning season with Manchester City.

While up on stage, Drogba challenged him to replicate either his or Lineker’s celebration after his next goal.

Erling Haaland: « The new celebration? You’ll see on my next goal »#ballondor pic.twitter.com/YBF0PCLU5A

— Ballon d’Or #ballondor (@ballondor) October 30, 2023

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Manchester City emerged victorious in the Manchester Derby, beating Man United 3-0 at Old Trafford.

A brace from Erling Haaland and a goal from Phil Foden secured the victory for City, and put three points on the board.

Read on for our player ratings, and who stood out for City on the day…

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Ederson – 7 – Ederson made three saves, two of which were from inside the box and of course kept the clean sheet.

Josko Gvardiol – 7 – Gvardiol did his job tucking inside to defend as a left centre back, and also covering the left flank as a left back. He made one clearance and three interceptions.

John Stones – 7.5 – Stones was very important in build up, pushing into midfield alongside Rodri to offer passing options into midfield. He also made two clearances, one tackle and one interceptions, doing his bit defensively.

Ruben Dias – 7 – Dias was the central presence behind the midfield in transition, and swept up everything behind the midfield nicely, making three interceptions and three clearances.

Kyle Walker – 8 – The captain kept Rashford quiet out wide, making three tackles, one interception, one clearance and one block. He also won four of his five ground duels, and was dominant for City in his 1v1 duels.

Bernardo Silva – 8.5 – Silva drifting deep to collect the ball, dragging defenders around with him, and popping up in the half spaces made it a nightmare for United to defend. He made three key passes, created three big chances, and got the assist for City’s second goal.

Rodri – 8 – Created the base for City as usual, and kept things simple and solid. Had 101 touches, made 80 of his 90 passes and completed six of his seven long balls. Was the heartbeat of the City team.

Jack Grealish – 7.5 – Looked to be direct out on the left, having five shots (one on target, two off target and two being blocked). He also made one key pass and completed three of his four dribble attempts.

Julian Alvarez – 7 – His energy and pressing from the front was important for City out of possession, and in possession he managed to make two key passes, and had three shots (one on target, one off target and one being blocked).

Phil Foden – 7.5 – Scored City’s third goal late on to secure the victory, but also missed two big chances. Had two shots on target and two shots off target, getting in a lot of dangerous positions for City.

Erling Haaland – 9 – Scored a brace to help City take the ascendency, also got the assist for Foden’s goal.

Subs: Mateo Kovacic 5, Jeremy Doku 5.

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The latest Premier League team of the week is in, and it’s unsurprisingly dominated by Manchester City after they enjoyed a convincing 3-0 win away to rivals Manchester United in Sunday’s Manchester Derby.

The reigning champions were a level above Man Utd on the day, with Erling Haaland scoring twice and Phil Foden bagging the other, leading to Garth Crooks to naming as many as four players from Pep Guardiola’s side in his team of the week in his BBC Sport column.

Ederson, Haaland, Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva are the four City players to make it in, and it’s hard to argue with that choice as they dominate the full XI, as you can see below…

Elsewhere, Arsenal’s hat-trick hero Eddie Nketiah is an obvious pick after a superb performance in the Gunners’ 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United, while Micky van de Ven put in another fine display as Tottenham continued their superb recent form.

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Elsewhere, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha were other big names to make Crooks’ line up.

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Manchester City are on another level right now, according to Fabrizio Romano as he responded to the Manchester Derby in his exclusive column for the Daily Briefing.

City won 3-0 away to Man Utd yesterday in what was an almost embarrassingly comfortable result for Pep Guardiola’s treble winners, with Erling Haaland scoring twice and Phil Foden adding a third at Old Trafford.

United just weren’t in this game at any point, and Romano admits it’s partly because City are on another level to almost everyone right now.

Guardiola’s men are capable of dominating even the very best teams in Europe, such as Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League semi-final, and it’s also fair to say that United are a long way off Europe’s elite these days anyway.

Still, Romano preferred to focus on the positives of City’s display, with the club well ahead of where United are right now in terms of how they’re structured at basically every level.

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“In the end it was a pretty comfortable win for Manchester City away to Manchester United in yesterday’s Manchester Derby. At the moment, City are on another level, so I don’t think it’s too surprising that there was quite a big gulf between the sides on the day,” Romano said.

“Remember that City are at a completely different stage of their project – they have great players, full of confidence, and in tune with the manager’s ideas. It will take time for United to get to that stage.”

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Erling Haaland had yet another brilliant game against rivals Manchester United as he scored two and assisted one to win 3-0 at Old Trafford.

His first came from the spot and second was a brilliantly guided header past Onana. He had a chance to complete his hat-trick later in the game but decided to pass it to Foden instead.

Rodri’s shot from the edge of the box was saved by Onana but the ball fell to the Norwegian on the rebound. Instead of going for goal, he passed it expertly to Foden who tapped it in to make it 3.

Watch the goal below:

"IT'S ANOTHER BLUE DERBY DAY" ?

Haaland ? Foden ? pic.twitter.com/EghjhTEQWD

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 29, 2023

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Erling Haaland has scored his second goal of the game with a brilliant header past Andre Onana.

Just before half-time, his headed effort from a very similar play was stunningly saved by the goalkeeper.

But he made no mistake the second time. 4 minutes into the second half, City attacked with in a very similar manner. And it was Bernando Silva once again who put in a teasing delivery at the back post and this time Haaland made no mistake as he guided the header past Onana to make it 2-0.

Watch the goal below:

"Erling Haaland MASSIVE everywhere he goes"

Man City take a 2-0 lead! ? pic.twitter.com/zvIGo3qknR

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 29, 2023

Haaland with a brace! Best goal scorer the league has ever seen! pic.twitter.com/iPzdCMi4uu

— Sam (@Sam_Daniels6) October 29, 2023

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Erling Haaland has given Manchester City the lead from the spot in the Manchester Derby.

United striker Rasmus Hojlund seemed to have his arm at Rodri inside the box during the set-piece but was it enough for the midfielder to go down the way he did is questionable.

Regardless, the Norwegian stepped up and expertly scored past Onana to give City the lead at Old Trafford.

Watch the goal below:

"HAALAND! CITY ARE ON THEIR WAY!" ? pic.twitter.com/TvUe4jaxis

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) October 29, 2023

??| PENALTY: It’s a penalty for Manchester City!

Manchester City 0-0 Manchester United.

pic.twitter.com/bJluh7DjWK

— TTS. (@TransferSector) October 29, 2023

"What a super twat! What an absolute prat!" ?@markgoldbridge is fuming at #mufc going 1-0 down and the penalty decision. pic.twitter.com/HCOVhGh719

— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) October 29, 2023

What was clear and obvious about that?

VAR re-reffing the game and intervening when it’s not necessary. Absolutely disgraceful.

Never a penalty.#MUFC || #MUNMCI

— Owen ? (@OwenUnitedView) October 29, 2023

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Erling Haaland has heaped praise onto Jude Bellingham after he scored a brace in his first-ever El Clasico.

The English midfielder has been incredible since making the big-money move to the Bernabeu in the summer.

As the lights got brighter Bellingham has only risen in stature, scoring 14 goals in his first 16 games.

But his greatest performance has come in the biggest game of the season, the El Clasico against bitter La Liga rivals, Barcelona.

After going 1-0 down at the Camp Nou, Bellingham scored a rocket from outside the box before stealing all three points with a poachers finish in extra time.

The 20-year-old has rightly got tons of plaudits for his performance with Man City striker, Haaland, the latest to heap praise on the youngster.

The Norwegian striker posted a picture of Bellingham’s first goal with the caption ‘Unreal this guy’.

Even Erling Haaland can’t believe what Jude Bellingham is doing on the pitch for Real Madrid.

Respect pic.twitter.com/2iy2eLK76H

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) October 28, 2023

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Monday night should see Lionel Messi crowned as the Ballon d’Or for an incredible eighth time.

That’s three more than his nemesis, Cristiano Ronaldo, and at least five more than anyone else.

By whichever metric you choose, there’s a cogent argument that the diminutive Argentinian really is the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time).

Ex-Premier League striker, Stan Collymore, believes that Messi deserves the award because of his World Cup heroics at the back end of last year.

‘If you’re looking for the fairy tale and the guy that’s come in and almost single-handedly won a World Cup then Messi is a worthy winner,’ he wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.

However, given that Man City did the treble last season and were absolutely awesome whilst doing so, Collymore questioned whether two of their players actually deserved the honour in Messi’s stead.

‘However, if you’re looking in terms of numbers, Erling Haaland comes in and breaks the Premier League record – which is very difficult to do – in his first season, then he has a valid shout,’ he continued.

‘What about Julian Alvarez, who won the World Cup and scored goals, and provided assists for Haaland and his team-mates?’

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Like so many, Collymore appears bored by the whole notion of an individual award in what is a team sport, unless there are definable metrics by which a score can be given and the ‘best in the world’ is therefore exactly that because of the highest score.

‘I’m not a big fan of individual awards because they’re so subjective and almost pointless. What’s the criteria? Goals scored? Assists given? Influence over your team or any other metric you ascribe to?’ he added.

‘Then you get people like Pep Guardiola coming out and saying Messi should have his own award, and that will have weighed heavily on the minds of journalists and the people that vote for things like that.

‘[…] Brand Messi and brand Ronaldo have been very, very strong for a long time, but in years to come I would like to see some kind of criteria attached to the award in the same way that you would judge the Golden Gloves or similar.’

What’s almost certain is that no other player will ever come close to matching Messi’s eight Golden Balls, and he will remain forever at the pinnacle of football folklore.

Football will never, ever see his like again.

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