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Erling Haaland may not have won individual accolades for a career-best year in 2023, but he has no hard feelings for the person that beat him to those trophies -- Lionel Messi.

The Manchester City forward was nominated for the Ballon d'Or and The Best FIFA Men's Player award after his stellar first season with the club, when he scored 52 goals and lifted the treble. He lost out on both awards to Messi, who was still collecting some honors for his World Cup win with Argentina in 2022.

"It's true he won it," Haaland said about the individual awards during a Tuesday press conference ahead of Manchester City's UEFA Champions League tie with Copenhagen (as always you can catch all the Champions League coverage across CBS, Paramount+, CBS Sports Network, and CBS Sports Golazo Network). "He won the World Cup, so I don't know what to say. He is the best that's ever played, I think."

Haaland is seen as one of the successors to Messi's status as the greatest player in the game, and the 23-year-old is poised to pick up some of his own accolades in the near future. He almost won the Best FIFA Men's Player for his 2023 showing -- Haaland and Messi were tied on points for the award, but Messi won the tiebreak of votes by national team captains and took home the prize for a second year in a row.

Messi's Ballon d'Or victory was not much of a surprise considering the window of eligibility included his 2022 World Cup win, but the FIFA accolade was a reward for performances in the calendar year of 2023 -- after Argentina won the World Cup.

Haaland and Messi were in contrasting situations in 2023. While Haaland was a crucial part of City's best-ever seasons and lifted some of the biggest titles in club soccer, Messi split his 2023 between Paris Saint-Germain and MLS' Inter Miami. The World Cup winner lifted the Ligue 1 title before leaving France and then won the Leagues Cup shortly after arriving in the U.S., but did not hit the heights Haaland did in 2023, scoring 28 times for club and country last year.

Though the next batch of individual awards are still months away, Haaland is an early frontrunner to rank amongst the top players yet again. He continues to score at a high rate and so far has 28 goals across all competitions for Manchester City this season, but outgoing PSG star Kylian Mbappe is seen as a top-tier competitor considering he will have the chance to win international hardware with France at the Euros -- and possibly at the Olympic Games.

Messi, though, might not be out of the running. He already has three goals after just three games in the 2024 MLS season and could lift another trophy with Argentina when they compete in the U.S.-hosted Copa America this summer.