The 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or 2023 awards are out, and Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland lead the race for the prestigious award. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 30.
Messi has been nominated again this year after he was omitted from the shortlist last year. Moreover, if he wins the award this year, it will be his eighth Ballon d’Or.
Can Messi win his eighth Ballon d’Or award this year?
Furthermore, Messi’s eternal rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who now plays for Al Nassr, was not nominated for the first time since 2003.
Messi led Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last year, the only trophy he was craving to win in his 21-year career. Moreover, he also won the Golden Ball and was the second top scorer with seven goals.
But at club level, Messi had a mixed year. PSG were knocked out in the round of 16 of the Champions League for a second consecutive season. However, they managed to win the Ligue 1.
After ending his stay at PSG, he joined Inter Miami on a free transfer. Messi is scoring goals for fun in the MLS, and also helped the club to win the Leagues Cup and claim a spot in the final of the U.S. Open Cup.
Ballon d’Or 2023 awards: Will Erling Haaland beat Messi to win his first Ballon d’Or?
Erling Haaland is the only player who will rival Messi for this award. The Norwegian striker scored 52 goals in 53 games in all competitions as Manchester City clinched the Premier League, FA Cup, and the Champions League title.
Furthermore, he also broke the Premier League’s single-season scoring record with 36 goals in his debut campaign in England.
Haaland also won several individual awards, including PFA Player of the Year, Premier League’s Player of the Season and Football Writers’ Association’s Men’s Player of the Year.
Moreover, Manchester City and Argentina have the most nominees this year. Seven Man City players who helped the club to win a Treble were nominated. Four Argentine players were part of their country’s third World Cup triumph.
Full list of men’s Ballon d’Or nominees:
André Onana – Manchester United/Cameroon
Josko Gvardiol – Manchester City/Croatia
Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad
Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich/Germany
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool/Egypt
Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid/England
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal/England
Randal Kolo Muani – Paris Saint-Germain/France
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City/Belgium
Bernardo Silva – Manchester City/Portugal
Emiliano Martínez – Aston Villa/Argentina
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli/Georgia
Rúben Dias – Manchester City/Portugal
Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan/Italy
Erling Haaland – Manchester City/Norway
Yassine Bounou – Al Hilal/Morocco
Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal/Norway
Julián Álvarez – Manchester City/Argentina
Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona/Germany
Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid/Brazil
Lionel Messi – Inter Miami/Argentina
Rodri – Manchester City/Spain
Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan/Argentina
Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid/France
Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona/Poland
Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain/France
Kim Min-jae – Napoli/South Korea
Victor Osimhen – Napoli/Nigeria
Luka Modric – Real Madrid/Croatia
Harry Kane – Bayern Munich/England
