BALLON D'OR
Di María hits back at Matthaus over Messi award criticism
Lionel Messi’s Argentine teammate took to Instagram to respond to the legendary German player, who had criticized the choice of the Ballon d’Or winner.
There has been no shortage of voices in the past few hours criticizing the choice of Messi as the Ballon d’Or winner, an award that the Argentine forward has now clinched for the eighth time. One of the most critical voices has been that of the former German footballer Lothar Matthaus, who expressed a strongly worded message.
“Although I am a Messi fan, I think this is a farce,” he said. “Throughout the year, Haaland performed better than Messi. It is undeserved that Messi has won. For me there is no way to avoid what Haaland achieved.”
Messi critic told to “go cry somewhere else”
Diario Olé were quick to pick up on the statements made by the legendary midfielder, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1990, and shared them on Instagram. In the same post, however, Messi’s compatriot and Argentina teammate Ángel di María stepped in to shut down the German.
“Go cry somewhere else,” (”A llorar a otro lado”) he commented, followed by a laughing emoji.
Although Messi was the flagbearer for Argentina in their World Cup conquests in Qatar, he didn’t shine at club level over the year in question, something Matthaus used to justify his opinion on the matter.
“For me, Haaland is the best player of the last twelve months, who has won major titles with Manchester City - Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup - and has broken goal scoring records in the process.”
When Matthaus was awarded the Ballon d’Or, also in a World Cup year, the German finished ahead of Salvatore Schillaci, who managed to score six goals in the tournament where his Italy was the host. In contrast, Germany, who won the title, took home the top prize. Additionally, his compatriot Andreas Brehme finished in third place.