2023-05-08 18:42:09
Who to succeed Karim Benzema on the Ballon d’Or winners? Unlikely to be for Lionel Messi, according to Luis Figo, winner in 2000. The Portuguese football legend believes that the Champions League plays a considerable role in the final classification and that this competition will overshadow Argentina’s performance in the of the World Cup in Qatar.
“I wouldn’t choose Messi because he is no longer involved in the Champions League and I think this competition has a lot of impact for people who vote for the Ballon d’Or,” said the former midfielder. , from Paris, where he participated in the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony as an ambassador. Lionel Messi is also named in the category of male athlete of the year.
On top of the world at the end of 2022, with a victory at the World Cup for his Argentina team and a trophy for the best player in the competition, the Argentinian started 2023 in pole position. We imagined then that a high-level duel was beginning with Kylian Mbappé, his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, finalist and top scorer of this World Cup with eight achievements. But the elimination of the Parisians in the knockout stages of the Champions League against Bayern Munich clearly reshuffled the cards.
A “fantastic season” for Haaland
A few hours before the start of the semi-finals of the competition, the former Portuguese international mentioned other serious candidates for this trophy. And between Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema and Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Luis Figo has a small preference. “It’s really difficult to choose, it will depend on the rest of the season. In particular, we have to wait for the Champions League final, which can make a lot of difference. But I might choose Haaland more. He is still in the competition, and is having a fantastic season”.
The former Madrid player, on the other hand, said very little about the possible repercussions of Lionel Messi’s trip to Saudi Arabia, which led to him being suspended by Paris Saint-Germain. Asked about the sanction, Figo explained: “I’m not part of the club, so I don’t know the rules established by the club. I can’t really comment on this situation. Each club acts differently, he insisted. But the good thing is that he came back. He can train, he can play, and he can help his team.
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