On Monday, October 28, we learned the new winner of the Ballon d'Or. Rodri received the award at the Theater Chatelet in Paris. The Spaniard won the Premier League with Manchester City last season, and won the European Championship with the national team. This time, Vinicius Junior had to be disappointed, as he – like the entire Real Madrid – did not appear at the gala in France as part of the boycott.
Haaland did not fly to Paris. He preferred to watch the match
Erling Haaland was also among the players nominated for the prestigious award. The Norwegian is one of the best football players in the world, as evidenced by his astronomical numbers in the English league. Few people expected that the 24-year-old would win the Ballon d'Or this year. Ultimately, he finished fifth, just behind Rodri, Vinicius, Bellingham and Carvajal.
Despite this, on Monday evening it was in vain to look for Haaland at the gala organized by “France Football”. Instead of being a star among the stars, the Norwegian striker went to the match of the 28th round of the Swedish top league, in which Malmoe FF faced Gothenburg at home.
The home team features a friend of the Manchester City star – Erik Botheim. For this reason, Erling Haaland wore a Malmoe FF jersey and supported them from the stands as the 68th edition of the Ballon d'Or Plebiscite took place in Paris. Ultimately, the hosts won 2:1 and are currently the clear leaders in the table with 61 points.
The top scorer of last season's Premier League became friends with Erik Botheim during the youth training camps of the Norwegian national team. Together they played 17 matches. As you can see, Haaland values his old friends very much. To the point that his priority is visiting a match in Sweden rather than participating in prestigious football galas. This season, the Norwegian has already scored a total of 14 goals in 13 matches played. Who knows, maybe next year he will receive the Ballon d'Or in Paris. Then – like it or not – he will have to come to the capital of France.