Manchester City are on a rampant run, both in the Premier League and the UEFA Champions League. Though Man City have emerged as a well-oiled machine, it’s the performances from Erling Haaland that are pushing them to achieve unprecedented heights this season. In fact, Haaland has been so prolific this season that many feel he is a top candidate for Ballon d’Or this year, especially if the Cityzens go on win the treble. Former Liverpool man Don Hutchinson feels Haaland or Kevin de Bruyne could go on to beat Lionel Messi to the top podium spot if Man City do go on to win three big trophies this season.
In a chat with NDTV during a select media call arranged by the Sony Sports Network, Hutchinson admitted that both Haaland and De Bruyne are in the race to win the Ballon d’Or this year. He feels though Messi won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina last year, he might go on to lose the Ballon d’Or to one of the Man City players.
Q: Lionel Messi won the FIFA World Cup with Argentina. But, if Manchester City win the treble this season, would Erling Haaland or Kevin de Bruyne have a chance of beating Messi to the top podium spot when it comes to the Ballon d’Or and FIFA Best awards?
I think so. I think if Erling Haaland breaks the goalscoring record, which he seems to be doing this season, and walks away with the treble this season, having smashed most goalscoring records, along with the three trophies, I wouldn’t imagine it would be anyone else rather than a Man City player. There’s De Bruyne but Haaland is probably edging because of the impact he has had in English football, in his first season, which is phenomenal. If he goes on to break the Premier League goalscoring record and Dixie Dean’s greatest of all time record of all time in the top-flight which is 63, it would be an amazing achievement. If that does happen, I would say it will be a Man City player, probably Erling Haaland.
Don was also asked to pick his favourites between Man City and Real Madrid from the semi-final showdown. He put his money on Pep Guardiola’s men.
Q: Real Madrid are always among the favourites when it comes to the Champions League. But, going by the form that Manchester City have shown of late, would you say Pep Guardiola’s side has the edge?
I think so. When you look back at last season’s performance against Real Madrid, I can remember seeing the stats. There was a time when Man City were going through. The clock reached 90 mins and Real Madrid had a 1 percent chance of going through as they didn’t even have a shot on target until the 91st minute. Yet, they scored a couple of goals in injury time and knocked Man City out. So, I think even if the last year’s game is played again, City would win it 9 times out of 10. And Real Madrid have had a really poor run where they were dead and buried against PSG, they were dead and buried against Chelsea. They were dead against Man City but they found a way to comeback. Credit to them but I still think, if you match the two teams up, I would still fancy Man City more times than Real Madrid.
Watch LIVE coverage of UEFA Champions League 2022-23 Semifinals on Sony Sports Ten 2, Sony Sports Ten 3 (Hindi) & Sony Sports Ten 4 (Tamil & Telugu) channels on 10th & 11th May 2023 at 12.30 am IST
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