Chelsea FC legend defends Messi with bold claim on Erling Haaland

The football world is talking about Lionel Messi being rewarded with FIFA's Best Men's Player of the Year award. There is controversy about the result because the award did not include the 2022 World Cup. Football legends like Lother Mattaus and Iker Casillas have made responses to the result, and they don't believe it's fair.

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Lother Mattaus thinks that Messi should not have won the award ahead of Haaland but still believes the Argentine to be one of the greatest footballers of all time. The German says, "He can't be the winner this time. I think he was the best footballer of the last 20 years, but he has been in Paris and Miami, where he is now creating a hype, and not won any major titles.”

Iker Casillas thinks the awards are unfair since Messi won it over Haaland. "You create some nice awards, and you are taking them away by not doing things fairly," said the former Real Madrid keeper. The Barca and Messi fans would reply to the Spaniard by mentioning his votes for the 2012 Balon d'Or, where he picked Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, and Xavi in his top three. Messi registered 91 goals and 22 assists that year.

Injustice is what Manchester City fans feel about Haaland missing out on the award last night. Man City won a historic treble in the second part of last season. This accomplishment is the 9th time it's ever been done in Europe, and City is the second English club to do it; Manchester United did the treble back in 1999. This doesn't mean much to one Chelsea legend who thinks Messi is deserving of the award and is a more important player for his team than Haaland.

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Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel thinks Messi did deserve The Best award over Erling Haaland

Former Chelsea midfielder John Obi-Mikel explains why he believes Messi deserves the award ahead of Haaland. Mikel says, "I think Messi did more than Haaland to win it. [Man City] create chances. They score goals. They know how to win games without Haaland. He hasn't played for nine or ten games for them. What are they doing? They've lost one in nine or ten."