Pep Guardiola has opened up about who he thinks will win the Ballon d’Or between Lionel Messi and Elling Holland.
“Manchester City manager Guardiola was asked to choose between this year’s Ballon d’Or frontrunners Messi and Holland,” the British ’90min’ reported on July 21 (KST). Guardiola has coached both players,” it reported.
Organized by France Football, the Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious award a soccer player can receive. The Ballon d’Or is voted on by national team captains, managers, and journalists. Since last year, a season has been used as the evaluation period. This year, the 2022-23 season will be evaluated.
The two favorites are Messi and Holland. Messi and Holland. Messi scored 21 goals and 20 assists in all competitions for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) last season, helping them win the Ligue 1 title. At the World Cup, he was the “Emperor of Soccer. At the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Messi led Argentina with seven goals and three assists to help Argentina win its first title in 36 years. He also won the Golden Ball, which is awarded to the tournament’s best player.
He’s been flying high since his move to Inter Miami. Messi left PSG in July to join Inter Miami. Messi has done something magical. Before Messi joined, the team was at the bottom of the league with 5 wins, 3 draws, and 14 losses (18 points). This is the team Messi joined. It’s an 11-man sport, so few people expected Messi to make a big difference. But Messi transformed the entire team.
And won a championship. Inter Miami won the 2023 League Cup thanks to Messi. It was the club’s first title. At the time, Messi scored in seven consecutive Ligue 1 matches to help them win the title. Messi became the first player in history to score in all seven matches of the competition, including the two group stage games, the round of 32, round of 16, quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. Messi scored 10 goals and provided one assist in those seven games.온라인카지노
In contrast, Holland has been a key player in City’s treble. He arrived in a City shirt last summer from Dortmund. He was a “monster” right away. He opened the scoring from the opening day and exploded in every game. This led to 52 goals and nine assists in 53 games across all competitions.
He made history in his first season. Holland scored his 36th league goal in his first season with the club. In doing so, he broke the Premier League (PL) record for most goals in a single season. The previous PL record for goals in a single season was 34, set by Andy Cole in 1993-94 and Alan Shearer in 1994-95 when the league played 42 games. The previous record was set by Mohamed Salah with 32 goals in the 2017-18 season after the change to 38 games.
Led the club to its first treble in history. City won the PL title behind Holland’s breakout season. They also beat rivals Manchester United to win the English FA Cup. Add to that the UEFA Champions League (UCL) title, which City craved, and you have the club’s first-ever treble.
The debate in Europe is raging over whether Messi should win his eighth Ballon d’Or or Holland’s first. “The Ballon d’Or should have two sections, one for Messi and one for the other players,” Guardiola said in a pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s clash with Brighton on November 21.
“I think Holland will get it. We won the treble, he scored 50 goals. Of course, if you’re talking about Messi’s worst season, and the other players’ best season, they both deserve it, what can I say?” he continued.
“Selfishly, I would say Holland because he helped us achieve what we have achieved, but if Messi gets it, he can say it because he won the World Cup,” he concluded.