2023 Ballon d’Or: How France Snubbed Mbappe, Voted For Haaland

France did not vote for their own Kylian Mbappe for the Ballon d’Or award.

They did not also vote for Lionel Messi, the Argentina great, who left Paris Saint-Germain at the end of last season after two years at the club.

France however voted for Erling Haaland, who came second at the award ceremony.

Mbappe won the Ligue 1 title in the year in review and fired France to the final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar where he scored a top of eight goals to win the Golden Boot.

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However, it was rather surprising that his country did not acknowledge his performance for the year and opted for Erling Haaland.

Haaland came second to Lionel Messi, who won the award for a record-extending eighth time.

Individual performance in the previous season, team success during the previous season, player behavior and fair play during the season, are the criteria for awarding a player the Ballon d’Or.