Ballon d’Or 2023: All You Need to Know
Last night, France Football magazine announced the top thirty contenders for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award in 2023. The 2023 Ballon d’Or will be the 67th annual ceremony of the Ballon d’Or. The award will be based on the results of the season starting on 1 August 2022 and ending on 31 July 2023.
2023 Ballon d’Or Nominations
The nominees were announced on 6 September 2023, and the ceremony will take place on 30 October 2023. The nominations, as published by France Football, are as follows:
- • Julian Alvarez (Argentina)
- • Nicolo Barella (Italy)
- • Jude Bellingham (England)
- • Karim Benzema (France)
- • Yassine Bounou (Morocco)
- • Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
- • Ruben Dias (Portugal)
- • Antoine Griezmann ( France )
- • Ilkay Gundogan (Germany)
- • Josko Gvardiol (Croatia)
- • Erling Haaland (Norway)
- • Harry Kane (England)
- • Kim Min Jae (South Korea)
- • Randal Kolo Muani (France)
- • Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)
- • Robert Lewandowski (Poland)
- • Emiliano Martinez (Argentina)
- • Lautaro Martinez ( Argentina )
- • Kylian Mbappe (France)
- • Lionel Messi (Argentina)
- • Luka Modric (Croatia)
- • Jamal Musiala (Germany)
- • Martin Ødegaard (Norway)
- • Andre Onana (Cameroon)
- • Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
- • Rodri (Spain)
- • Bukayo Saka (England)
- • Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
- • Bernardo Silva (Portugal)
- • Vinicius Junior (Brazil)
The Favorites
Even though thirty superstars are nominated by France Football for the Ballon d’Or 2023, the following four players have a comparatively higher chance to claim the award:
Lionel Messi ( INTER MIAMI )
In 2022-23: 42 goals, 26 assists. Won the World Cup, Ligue 1 & Trophee des Champions.
World Cup champion Lionel Messi is the most favorite to claim the title of the Best footballer on the planet. His World Cup triumph with Argentina in Qatar has given him a significant advantage over the other 29 nominees. Lionel Messi scored seven goals and provided three assists in the World Cup campaign. He is also the Golden Ball winner of the World Cup 2022. He also won Ligue 1 and the French Super Cup with PSG.
erling haaland ( manchester city )
In 2022-23: 56 goals, nine assists. Won the Champions League, Premier League & FA Cup.
Beside Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland is the only player among the nominees who is most likely to win the award. His debut season with Manchester City was too good to be true. He won the European Treble with Manchester City. He also won the PFA Player of the Year award and Euorpean golden boot as well .
rodri ( manchester city )
In 2022-23: Four goals, seven assists. Won the Champions League, Premier League, UEFA Nations League & FA Cup.
Rodri had an exceptional season both at the club and national levels. He was the backbone of his team in both club and national competitions. He won the treble and the UEFA Nations League. His goal in the final against Inter Milan helped Manchester City win its first European Silverware. He was awarded the Man of the Match in the UCL Final and UEFA Nations League final as well.
kylian mbappe ( paris saint germain )
In 2022-23: 55 goals, 14 assists. Won Ligue 1.
Kylian Mbappe, with another solid World Cup campaign, makes him the top contender for the Ballon d’Or trophy. He single-handedly turned the World Cup final against Argentina by scoring a hat-trick of goals. Even though he could not lift the World Cup trophy with the French National team, he won the Golden Boot in the World Cup by scoring eight goals in the process. He also won Ligue 1 in the same season.
Exclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo
For the first time in 20 years, Cristiano failed to make the nomination list for the Ballon d’Or award. With his below-average performance in the World Cup 2022 and a controversial season at Manchester United followed by a move to Al Nassr, this fate of Cristiano Ronaldo was already forecasted by many. However, Cristiano is still the player with the most nominations in Ballon d’Or history.
