Haaland has time to win Ballon d’Or

Pep Guardiola said Erling Haaland was happy just to be in the running to win the Ballon d’Or after missing out to Lionel Messi for the coveted prize recognising the world’s best player. 

Messi won the award for a record-extending eighth time on Monday after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar last season.

“I would say that I saw him so happy to be a contender, close to Messi and Mbappe and the rest of the players,” said Guardiola. “Erling has all his career ahead of him, so he has to continue winning and say, ‘OK, maybe next season I can be there’.  “This has to be his target but he was really pleased to be there and he seemed really well when he came back.” — SuperSport.