Pep Guardiola has said that Erling Haaland has reacted well to his second-place finish in the Ballon d’Or. City’s number 9 was considered a favourite for the prestigious award but finished second to Lionel Messi in the voting for the award.
Guardiola was asked in his pre-game press conference how Haaland had reacted to his second-place finish. Pep explained: “I saw him so happy to be in contention close to Messi, Mbappe, and the rest. It was a good night for Manchester City.” The treble winners had 5 players in the top 10 of the award which was announced at the Ballon d’Or awards. City also took home the Club of the Year award and Erling Haaland won the Gerd Muller Trophy for his goal-scoring feats last season.
The City manager believes finishing second in the Ballon d’Or could provide Haaland with motivation for this season. He added: “We were important there and he has all his career ahead of him so he has to see it as a challenge and think he can be there next year if he helps the team. I saw him really well when he came back.”
After scoring 52 goals in 53 games as City secured the treble it was expected that Haaland could become City’s first Ballon d’Or winner. But it wasn’t to be as Lionel Messi led Argentina to World Cup success in Qatar which was enough for Messi to secure his eighth Ballon d’Or.
The treble winners return to action this weekend at the Etihad against Bournemouth. Fresh off their success at the Ballon d’Or awards they’ll be looking for their fourth consecutive win in all competitions against the Cherries.
