Erling Haaland: Akanji Discloses Man City Star’s Priority After Ballon d’Or Loss to Messi

• Lionel Messi beat Erling Haaland to the 2023 Ballon d'Or with a massive point gap
• Haaland was awarded the Gerd Muller trophy for being the best goalscorer last season
• His Manchester City teammate, Manuel Akanji, has disclosed the striker's priority

Manchester City defender, Manuel Akanji, has disclosed what club teammate Erling Haaland takes as priority after he lost the 2023 Ballon d'Or to Lionel Messi.

Messi beat Haaland to football's most coveted individual award by several points despite the striker helping Man City win a historic treble in his first season in English football.

The Norwegian striker broke the Premier League's goalscoring record of the most goals in a single season with 36 goals to win the Golden Boot and was also the Champions League top scorer with 12 goals.

Akanji and Haaland moved to City in the summer of 2022 from Borussia Dortmund for a combined £66 million, per Goal. This was a bargain for both players considering what they have brought to the club.

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Akanji discloses Haaland's priority

Despite missing out on the Ballon d'Or, Akanji is convinced his teammate is not bothered as it was not his priority because he always put team achievements first.

"He did everything he could last year. He's scored 50 goals and won the treble. Of course, it would have been nice for him to win, but it's not just about that," the Swiss defender told ESPN.

"I think he cares more about the team's success than the individual ones, but I hope for him that he will win it one day."

On Haaland's training ethics, the former Basel defender said:

"In training, he works really hard to get better. Every day, he never takes it easy."

The former RB Salzburg forward is one of the early favourites for next year's Golden Ball Award, alongside Kylian Mbappe and 2023 Kopa trophy winner, Jude Bellingham. Exciting news! We have a WhatsApp channel 🤩 ➡️ Click to join our channel for all your favourite sports news.

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Messi beats Haaland by 105 points

Sports Brief reported on Messi winning the 2023 Ballon d'Or ahead of Haaland by a 105-point margin after France Football released the voting details.

The World Cup winner had 462 points, while the Manchester City striker had 357 points. Both men received number 1 votes from their countries, Argentina and Norway, respectively.