Pep Guardiola backs both Messi and Haaland to win the Ballon d’Or: “Should be two sections”

With the Ballon d’Or ceremony not very far away, speculations about who could walk away with the prestigious honour have been gaining steam in recent weeks.

Former Barcelona captain and club legend Lionel Messi is one of the favourites to win the Golden Orb – for the eighth time in his career – after leading Argentina to the FIFA World Cup triumph in December.

Meanwhile, Manchester City hitman Erling Haaland is also very much in the running after scoring over 50 goals last season to help his team to a historic treble of the Premier League, the FA Cup, and the UEFA Champions League.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was recently asked about his pick to win the Ballon d’Or between Messi and Haaland.

Guardiola was a huge influence in Messi’s career with the pair working wonders together at Barcelona. Now, the ex-Barça boss is coaxing the best out of Haaland at Man City.

And when asked who he thinks should win the Ballon d’Or this year, Guardiola gave a brilliant response, as he said (h/t Sam Lee): “I’ve always said there should be two sections: one for Messi and one for the others.”

Further elaborating on the matter, the former Barcelona manager added: “Haaland should win yes or yes, he scored 50 million goals. But Messi… his worst season is better than the rest. Both deserve it.

“Realistically I want to say I want Erling because he helped us but Leo won the World Cup. It’s nice that many players from Man City will be there.”

A couple of Barcelona players like Ilkay Gundogan and Robert Lewandowski are also among the nominees for the Ballon d’Or. But all signs point towards one of Messi or Haaland taking the prize home.