Man City fan's reaction after Haaland lost The Best to Messi

He was the overwhelming favorite to win the award for the best soccer player on the planet. Erling Haaland scored 52 goals in 52 games for Manchester City last season, helping Pep Guardiola's side win the treble. The Sky Blues lifted the FA Cup, Premier League and Champions League on the Norwegian's debut season at the Etihad Stadium. Haaland leads the new guard, but will have to wait a few months to finish unseating the old one. Kylian Mbappé came in third, while the award went to Leo Messi by the slimmest of margins.

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Messi and Haaland were tied on points in the voting, but the fact that the Inter Miami player received the votes of the captains of the various national teams ended up tipping the balance. Haaland was the favorite of both the coaches and the media representatives. In the event of a tie for first place, it will be the peer vote that will decide the winner. In other words, in the vote for the best coach, the coaches' votes are worth five points, just as the players' points are worth five points when it comes to choosing the best female footballer on the planet. In this case, it was the votes of the captains of the various national teams that decided who should win the award.

Players like Mbappé himself, Harry Kane, Luka Modric or Virgil van Dijk opted for the world champion with Argentina in 2022. It was the third The Best award for Messi. There was reaction from Haaland's father when the award was announced. Incredulous. As were the rest of the Manchester City fans, who understood Messi taking the award based on his career and his success at the World Cup finals in Qatar. "What has Messi done in 2023?" one Celeste fan asked on social media when the decision became known. "They've stolen Haaland!" or "How sad!" were some of the reactions from Manchester City fans.

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Anger at Haaland's defeat

Despite this, in Manchester they were satisfied with the rest of the votes. Their success on the pitch resulted in the inclusion of six of their players in FIFA's ideal eleven, although the absence of Rodri was a notable disappointment. Pep Guardiola won the award for best men's soccer coach.