Ballon d’Or 2023 was rigged for Messi — Piers Morgan

Controversial British presenter, Piers Morgan sparks controversy with his comments on the 2023 Ballon d’Or and its winner, Lionel Messi.

According to the broadcaster, Lionel Messi‘s eighth Ballon d’Or win was “rigged” for the Argentine.

Lionel Messi received the prestigious France Football prize on Monday, securing the most votes from a panel of 100 journalists representing FIFA nations, and surpassing competitors Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe.

Messi’s victory was largely attributed to his role in leading Argentina to their World Cup triumph in Qatar, during which he scored two crucial goals in a thrilling final against France.

However, Morgan, known for his allegiance to Messi’s long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo, has expressed strong dissent, arguing that Haaland’s remarkable 52 goals during Manchester City’s historic treble season should have earned him his first Ballon d’Or.

Morgan also contended that Ronaldo deserved two additional Ballon d’Or awards, which would have brought his total to seven.

Ronaldo, currently playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, was notably absent from the Ballon d’Or nominations and the 30-player shortlist for the first time since 2003.

“Messi preposterously winning the Ballon d’Or this year is yet more proof that the whole ‘Golden Ball’ system is rigged.

“He should have won 2 fewer, @Cristiano should have won 2 more, and Haaland should have won this year. End.”

A fervent Ronaldo supporter has even presented evidence suggesting bias against the star player, sharing quotes from former FIFA and UEFA presidents and recalling an incident when Ronaldo and Didier Drogba were apparently mocked during a previous Ballon d’Or ceremony.

While Ronaldo has not directly addressed his omission and Messi’s latest victory, he did respond to comments from Tomas Roncero, who disagreed with Messi’s win and opined that he should have only five Ballon d’Or titles.

“The World Cup was 10 months ago, we’re in November. Messi has eight Ballon d’Ors well, he should have five.

“He has the Ballon d’Ors of [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi, [Robert] Lewandowski who won 6 trophies in one season and [Erling] Haaland who was the top scorer of everything.”

Ronaldo liked and commented on an Instagram post featuring Roncero’s remarks, punctuating it with four laughing emojis.