Erling Braut Haaland of Manchester City was beaten by Leo Messi to win the Ballon d’Or at the glamorous ceremony held at the Theatre de Chatelet in the heart of Paris. Instead, he had to settle with the consolation prize of the Gerd Müller Award for 2023′s Best Striker.
The award, which was given out by France Football, honoured Haaland for his extraordinary season, which included winning the treble with Manchester City.
The prize ultimately went to Haaland because of his 56 goals in 57 games while playing for both Manchester City and the Norwegian national team. He takes over from 2022 trophy holder Robert Lewandowski to become the first player from Norway to win an honour at this esteemed ceremony. This is an incredible accomplishment for a nation with only 5 million people, where football is by no means the most popular sport.
The top striker from the previous European season for both club and country receives the trophy, which bears the name of the late, great German striking icon Gerd Muller.