Haaland scored 52 goals for Manchester City last season, helping the Blues win a historic treble and smashing multiple Premier League goalscoring records on the way. Having won the big Player of the Year awards in England, Haaland was recently crowned UEFA Player of the Year, and has his sights on the prestigious Ballon d&aposOr gong.
However, Messi is odds-on favourite due to his form at the 2022 World Cup, where he dragged Argentina to the final, and then scored twice against France to help his country become World Champions.
And Norway boss Stale Solbakken says that Messi will beat Haaland to the Ballon d&aposOr for his World Cup exploits.
With compatriot Martin Odegaard also on the 30-name shortlist, Solbakken said that the nominations reflect well on Norwegian football.
He said: “That&aposs very good. If you help dominate the two best teams in England and have a prominent role there, then you have a great chance of getting into the nominations.”
But the Norway boss said that Messi remains favourite ahead of his star striker Haaland.
“It&aposs probably between Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbapp and Erling,” he said. “And then there are some outsiders under there. If you ask who I think will win, I think Messi will win because of the World Cup. There is always an emphasis on this year with the World Cup. Mbapp was there too.
“Then Erling has top scorer titles, he has broken records and all the &aposplayer of the year&apos titles in England, plus he won the most prestigious club tournament. He also stands strong.”
Meanwhile, Solbakken has also spoken about City winger Oscar Bobb in recent days, with the Norway under-21 international making his senior debut for City before the international break and impressing against Fulham after looking promising in pre-season.
Bobb caught the eye over the summer at the under-21 European Championship, and Solbakken says it is a matter of time before he will earn a full cap, so long as he builds up his senior experience at City.
