"I think Messi will win Ballon d'Or because of World Cup," Erling Haaland's Norway coach

The Norwegian striker won the treble with Manchester City

Erling Haaland will compete for the Ballon d'Or and is one of the favourites to win this prestigious award. 52 goals in all competitions in 2022-23 were enough to rank him amongst the best.

Despite being the best striker in the last season, Haaland's Norway national team coach believes that he won't win the Ballon d'Or.

Stale Solbakken said, "That's very good. If you help dominate the two best teams in England and have a prominent role there, then you have a great chance of getting into the nominations."

But the Norway boss said that Messi remains the favourite ahead of his star striker Haaland.

"It's probably between Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Erling," he said. "And then there are some outsiders under there. If you ask who I think will win, I think Messi will win because of the World Cup. There is always an emphasis on this year with the World Cup. Mbappé was there too.

"Then Erling has top scorer titles, he has broken records and all the 'player of the year' titles in England, plus he won the most prestigious club tournament. He also stands strong."

The Norwegian powerhouse won a lot of individual awards after his heroics with Manchester City last season. He won the Player of the Year award in England and was also crowned UEFA Player of the Year.

Lionel Messi is the favourite to win his eighth Ballon d'Or. His World Cup heroics are the reason why the odds are in favour of the Argentine. Kylian Mbappe is also another contender but is likely to finish behind the goal-machine Haaland. Both players are the future of the sport and are likely to compete against each other for such prestigious awards.