Oh well. If he performed as well or better than Folarin Balogun for 4 months (in a much better side) there is no debate to be had here!
The main criteria in recent times is that it's got to be Ronaldo or Messi if at all possible.
Correct. The fact they’re still winning it is absurd imho. Even if Messi did manage to raise his recent game successfully during the World Cup.
What ever he has or hasn't done since May doesn't matter regardless, they changed the period taken in to account from a calendar year to seasonal prior to the last award.
Don't really get this view that Mbappe should win it tbh, why should someone win it for scoring a hattrick in the World Cup final over the person who won that final and scored twice? Not to mention that two of Mbappe's goals were penalties, and that he was absolutely anonymous for the first 80 minutes of it and, again, whatever he's done at Miami isn't taken in to account anymore anyway, it's for the 22/23 season, not 2023 and the World Cup and, as a reminder, in that time he got 21 goals and 20 assists for PSG, 18 goals for Argentina, including 7 goals and 3 assists on the way to winning the World Cup where he was the best player.Surely it has to be either Haaland (most goals ever scored in the premier league, won the treble, European golden boot) or Mbappe (hat trick in the World Cup final?)
massive Lionel Messi fan, i always side with him over Ronaldo, but playing half of the calendar year in America surely cannot be ignored just because he won a World Cup?
Granted he did almost win it singlehandedly for Argentina
Haaland for me
Fair point re May.
Southgate probably voted for him.
I think this is a case of Messi being a victim of being Messi tbh, because 21 goals and 20 assists for almost anyone else would be fantastic, but for Messi it's 'not especially impressive' because it's not his usual nonsensical 50 goals or whatever. Messi was incredible for PSG for the first half the season at the very last, and 35 goals and 23 assists in all competitions for club and country is a little more than not especially impressive.
Haaland scored 52, mostly at a higher standard, for a side that performed much better in the CL and achieved something very rare.
I'm not comparing him or his season to Haaland though, you are. I'm just making the case that he had a good season, that he had slightly more than a 'not especially impressive' season, and that being the best player at the World Cup where you win it is likely going to result in literally anyone winning it most of the time for that alone.
Well fine. But personally I don’t think such a heavy weighting should be given to the one-month world cup.
Hardly absurd, Messi did practically drag Argentina to the biggest trophy in football. Can’t exactly overlook that
Well, imho he didn’t. He was their best player, but he didn’t drag anyone anywhere. If he was the player of the tournament (which he was), then give him the golden ball (which I’m sure they did).
A performance like that in a fairly poor Argentina side far outweighs anything Haaland did in the best side in the world.
I suppose we’ll just have to agree to disagree.