You pretend that you don’t understand the problem - the one who is recognized as the best should show not just “average” results in the farm league, but something truly amazing, as Haaland did. Messi was knocked out of the Champions League in the 1/8 finals two times in a row without scoring or assisting. The fact that he will receive another stolen Ballon d'Or is only evidence of ongoing corruption.
I've said it before that Messi doesn't deserve the Ballon D'or but I won't be surprised if he wins it because they've rigged it in the past in his favour, so they could do it again. Halaand is the best candidate to land this award based on his stellar performance for his club last season, helping Manchester City to triple trophies; EPL, FA cup and champions league. He also finished as the top scorer in both the champions league and EPL. If anyone wants to use the world cup as a yardstick to judge both of them, then the Ballon D'or should go to Julian Alvarez.