The 2023 Ballon d’Or will be an exciting event for football fans around the world. Who will be the best player in the world this year? Will Lionel Messi retain his title or will Erling Haaland replace him? What is the fate of Cristiano Ronaldo who is absent from the nominations?
France Football Magazine annually awards the Ballon d’Or to the player who is considered to have had the best performance in the last year. This award is considered one of the most prestigious trophies in the world of football.
30 2023 Ballon d’Or nominees
This year there are 30 names of the best world football players who have been nominated for the 2023 Ballon d’Or. These names are:
- Andre Onana (Manchester United)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
- Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona)
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
- Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
- Julian Alvares (Manchester City)
- Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad)
- Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
- Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint Germain)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Nicollo Barella (Inter Milan)
- Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
- Rodri (Manchester City)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
- Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
- Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal)
Of the 30 names, the two most favored are Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland. Messi was the holder of the Ballon d’Or title last year and also in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014. He is the player with the most Ballon d’Or collections in history.
Messi has had extraordinary achievements this year. He succeeded in bringing Argentina to become champions of the 2022 World Cup after beating Brazil in the final with a score of 2-1. He also scored important goals for Barcelona before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window.
Haaland is Messi’s toughest challenger. This young player from Norway became the most prolific striker in Europe last season. He scored 41 goals in 41 games for Borussia Dortmund before moving to Manchester City in January 2023.
Haaland not only scored spectacular goals, but also helped Manchester City win the treble winners. He became the top scorer in the Premier League with 25 goals, in the FA Cup with 7 goals, and in the Champions League with 12 goals. He was also the best player in the Champions League last season.
If Haaland wins the Ballon d’Or this year, he will be the youngest player to ever win the award. He will also become the first player from Norway to win the Ballon d’Or.
One name that is not on the list of nominees for this year’s Ballon d’Or is Cristiano Ronaldo. This Portuguese player is Messi’s eternal rival and is also the collector of 5 Ballon d’Or trophies in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Ronaldo experienced an unsatisfactory season this year. He did not succeed in bringing Manchester United or Al Nassr to any title. He also failed to bring Portugal through to the group stages of the 2022 World Cup.
Ronaldo is one of the best players of all time, but his performance seems to be starting to decline as he gets older. He is now 38 years old and may no longer be able to compete with younger players who are fresher and more powerful.
Other Types of Awards
Apart from the Ballon d’Or, there are also other awards that will be given tonight. These awards include:
- Kopa Trophy: Award for the best young player in the world under 21 years of age. The nominees are: Pedri Gonzalez, Phil Foden, Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Eduardo Camavinga, Ryan Gravenberch, Jamal Musiala, Ansu Fati and Jeremy Doku.
- Gerd Muller Trophy: Award for the best striker in the world. The nominees are: Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Romelu Lukaku, Harry Kane, Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah.
- Lev Yashin Trophy: Award for the best goalkeeper in the world. The nominees are: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Edouard Mendy, Manuel Neuer, Thibaut Courtois, Alisson Becker, Ederson Moraes, David de Gea, Hugo Lloris, Keylor Navas and Jan Oblak.
-Best line-up: Award for players who are included in the world’s ideal team based on their position. The nominees are: Donnarumma; Ruben Dias, Giorgio Chiellini, Virgil van Dijk; Kevin De Bruyne, N’Golo Kante, Jorginho; Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Mbappe; Lewandowski.
- Feminine Ballon d’Or: Award for the best female player in the world. The nominations by club are:
- Barcelona: Salma Paralluelo, Fridolina Rolfo, Patricia Guijarro, Mapi Leon, Asisat Oshoala, Aitana Bonmati
- Chelsea: Millie Bright, Guro Reiten, Sam Kerr
- Real Madrid: Linda Caicedo, Hayley Raso, Olga Carmona
- Manchester City: Yui Hasegawa, Khadija Shaw, Jill Roord
- Wolfsburg: Lena Oberdorf, Alexandria Popp, Ewa Pajor
- Arsenal:Amanda Ilestedt, Katie McCabe
- Aston Villa: Rachel Daly, Daphne van Domselaar
- Lyon: Kadidiatou Diani, Wendie Renard
- Manchester United: Hinata Miyazawa, Mary Earps
- Bayern Munich: Georgia Stanway
- Levante UD: Alba Redondo
- Portland: Sophia Smith
- Kansas City: Debinha
Live Streaming Schedule and Links
The 2023 Ballon d’Or will be held at the Theater du Chatelet, Paris, on Tuesday (31/10/2023) early morning. This event will be broadcast live by several television stations and can also be watched via the live streaming link [here]. Don’t miss the excitement and surprises of this year’s world’s best player award night!
