Lionel Messi to beat Erling Haaland to Ballon d'Or award - despite Cristiano Ronaldo outscoring both players

According to Sport, Messi is now poised to win another Ballon d'Or.

It's claimed the veteran will reclaim the award after missing out on the prize to Karim Benzema 12 months ago.

Messi's excellent form for Argentina at last year's World Cup has boosted his chances of securing another accolade.

He was outstanding in the Middle East, scoring five goals and clocking up three assists as his country went all the way.

Messi has also bagged 11 goals from his first 13 appearances for Inter Miami, too.

However, just one of those have come in the MLS - with the forward struggling in recent weeks.

News of Messi's imminent triumph is likely to irk Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.

Haaland moved to the Etihad Stadium from Borussia Dortmund back in the summer transfer window of 2022.

And he then proceeded to shine for City last term as the club won the treble under Pep Guardiola.

Haaland scored 52 goals from 53 matches across all competitions, with a staggering 36 of those goals coming in the Premier League.

He has continued his brilliance this term, too, scoring eight goals from 12 matches.

There's also a sense he's still adjusting to the new season, something that doesn't bode well for defenders up and down the country.

One player who wasn't nominated the Ballon d'Or this year is Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Portugal international has actually outscored both Messi and Haaland by netting 40 times in 2023 so far.

But with Ronaldo plying his trade in Saudi Arabia, he's now been snubbed.

Ronaldo was outstanding for Portugal on Monday night, scoring twice in a 5-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He now has 127 international goals, with Bruno Fernandes, Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix also on target.

The ceremony for the Ballon d'Or will be held on October 30.

Messi is poised to attend, especially as he'll be reportedly claiming the award once again.

The 36-year-old won his first Ballon d'Or back in 2009 after firing Guardiola's Barcelona to a La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League treble.

He would win the award three more times in a row before Ronaldo would claim it twice.

Since then, however, Messi has added to his haul with triumphs in 2015, 2019 and 2021.

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Benzema and Luka Modric are the only two players to that aren't Messi or Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or since 2007.