Angel Di Maria has reacted brashly to a comment by Lothar Matthaus, who claimed that Erling Haaland deserved to win the Ballon d’Or over Lionel Messi.
Messi was voted the best player for 2023, and he was handed the Ballon d’Or award on Monday, October 30, 2023.
The Argentine took home the award for the 8th time in his career, with the 2022 FIFA World Cup triumph in Qatar apparently being the deciding factor.
Matthaus in an interview with Sky Germany stated emphatically, who he thought was more deserving of the award.
The German said: “Over the whole of last year, Haaland performed better than Messi.
“It’s undeserved that Messi won. But that shows that a World Cup counts more than anything else.”
Having affirmed that Messi didn’t deserve to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or, Lothar Matthaus also revealed the reason for his stance.
He said: “For me, Haaland is the best player of the last twelve months, won major titles with Manchester City ( Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in England) and broke goalscoring records in the process.
“For me, there is no way around Haaland. The choice is a farce, even though I am a Messi fan.”
Angel Di Maria comments directed at Lothar Matthaus
Following the comments made by the 1990 FIFA World Cup winner, Angel Di Maria took to a post on Instagram to share a comment which read:
“Go cry somewhere else” and he attached a laughing emoji to it.
Recall that on October 31, 2023, Cristiano Ronaldo commented with laughing emojis under a post that mocked Lionel Messi and insinuated that the Argentine had robbed Xavi/Iniesta, Robert Lewandowski, and Erling Braut Haaland of their Ballon d’Or.
His comment evoked massive uproar, with the majority of fans, particularly fans of Messi terming his comment as disrespectful and unmannerly.
However, one can only expect the same stick for Angel Di Maria, following his comments on the statements made by Lothar Matthaus.
Who is Lothar Matthaus?
He is a German football pundit, former footballer and manager. Matheus last managed Bulgaria, tutoring the side between 2010 and 2011.
Lothar Matthaus played for several top teams in Europe, including; Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Borussia Monchengladbach.
The 62-year-old scored 204 goals and provided 63 assists in 785 appearances throughout his career.
We can never say it’s unfair that Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d’Or – Pep Guardiola
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola has expressed that no one can say “it’s unfair that Lionel Messi wins the Ballon d’Or.”
Guardiola emphasized that Messi is too good, and as such winning the 2023 Ballon d’Or only rubber stamps that stance.
Before the award ceremony, Pep Guardiola was asked who thinks should win the award and he sounded “political”, stating that Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland deserve to win it.
He said: “I always said that the Ballon d’Or had to be two sections: one for Messi and one for the others. Haaland should win, yes, after scoring 50 million goals.
“But of course Messi, if you tell me the worst season of Messi it is the best for the rest of them. Both deserve it.”
Lionel Messi scored 21 goals and provided 20 assists in 41 appearances across all competitions for Paris Saint Germain last season before he joined Inter Miami on a free transfer, following the expiration of his two-year deal with PSG.
Erling Haaland scored 52 goals and provided 9 assists in 53 appearances for the Parisians.
