Ronaldo Nazario Picks His 2023 Ballon d’Or Winner Between Messi and Haaland

• Ronaldo Nazario has backed Lionel Messi to win the Ballon d’Or award this year
• Messi and Erling Haaland are the top two contenders for the 2023 prestigious award
• Messi led Argentina to the World Cup title while Haaland won the treble with Manchester City

Brazil icon, Ronaldo Nazario has backed Argentina superstar Lionel Messi to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or award ahead of Manchester City forward Erling Haaland.

Messi was crowned the most valuable player as he led Argentina to their first World Cup title in 35 years, while Erling Haaland played a pivotal role in helping Manchester City win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup titles.

According to Sportskeeda, Ronaldo believes the Argentine deserves the award for his emphatic 2022 FIFA World Cup victory which resulted in him being crowned the tournament’s MVP.

“Messi deserves to win the Ballon d’Or. I think he will be crowned. He won the World Cup, which is a very big tournament.”

Messi and Ronaldo could reunite as MLS looks to sign both superstars

Football

Messi already has seven Ballon d’Or awards, the most of any footballer, and will most likely extend the record if he is crowned the 2023 Ballon d’Or winner.

Messi scores fastest career goal

Meanwhile, Lionel Messi scored his fastest career goal as Argentina comfortably beat Australia in a friendly in Beijing, BBC reports.

The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward opened the scoring after one minute and 19 seconds, curling a finish into the top left corner from the edge of the box.

Lionel Scaloni's side were playing their third fixture since lifting the World Cup in December and their first outside of Argentina.

Messi’s feelings about Ballon d’Or

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Lionel Messi has claimed that the Ballon d'Or prize is of little significance to him at this point of his glistening career.

Having recently concluded his tenure in Europe by joining MLS team Inter Miami, Messi is considered the frontrunner for the 2023 award, which will be presented in October, with the treble-winning Erling Haaland leading the chasing pack.

Paris to Miami: NBA stars welcome Messi to MLS

NBA

Haaland, the prolific Manchester City striker, also stands a fair chance at claiming the coveted award.