Unexpectedly, ERLING HAALAND lost out to Lionel Messi for the FIFA Best Men’s Player title, which caused his father to clench his jaw.

Haaland scored an incredible 52 goals and provided nine assists in 53 games to lead City to an incredible Treble victory the previous season.

Man City superstar Haaland missed out on Fifa’s The Best Men’s Player award

Lionel Messi beat Haaland to the award much to the surprise of many

Haaaland’s father Alf-Inge looked furious by the outcome

Due to his outstanding play, the star striker won both the Premier League and the Champions League’s top scorer award.

Even though Messi currently plays for Inter Miami in the Major League Soccer, he nevertheless defeated the Norway international for the esteemed honor.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner defeated a distinguished group of contenders, who included Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain.

Julian Alvarez, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, and Bernardo Silva—Haaland’s teammates at City—were also included on the nomination list.

Marcelo Brozovic, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Victor Osimhen, Declan Rice of Arsenal, Ilkay Gundogan, and the 23-year-old’s teammate from last season at the Etihad were also on the list.

Haaland’s father, former City star Alf-Inge, was clearly upset when the Argentina international received the honor.

As other guests praised the Barcelona icon, the former City star was seen on camera wearing a frown and appearing stony-faced.

And a few football supporters in the city concur with the former Leeds player’s response.

A fan tweeted: “I feel horrible for the man from Haaland. Even his father was a bad guy.

Another wrote: “Haaland not winning a single award after winning all this has to be one of the biggest robberies in football history.”

Says a third: “I’ll say it once more. These accolades need to go to Haaland. Messi is a legend, but Haaland won a treble after entering a new league and shattering its goal record.”

“What more does Haaland have to do?” wrote one enthusiast.

And one of them wondered: “If Erling Haaland had won the World Cup with Norway in December 2022 while Messi won the treble, who would have won both the Ballon d’Or and the Best Awards?”

Fifa: The Best awards

Men’s Player: Lionel Messi

Men’s coach: Pep Guardiola

Men’s XI: Thibaut Courtois; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias; Bernardo Silva, Jude Bellingham, Kevin de Bruyne; Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kylina Mbappe, Vinicius Jr

Goalkeeper: Ederson

Women’s player: Aitana Bonmati

Women’s coach: Sarina Wiegman

Women’s XI: Mary Earps; Lucy Bronze, Olga Carmona, Alex Greenwood; Keira Walsh, Alessia Russo, Lauren James, Ella Toone; Aitana Bonmati; Alex Morgan, Sam Kerr

Women’s goalkeeper: Mary Earps