The nominees for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award have been revealed, with the winner to be revealed at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Oct. 30.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not been named in the list for the first time since 2003, following his move to Al Nassr, marking the end of an era. On the other hand, Lionel Messi has been named and is one of the favourites to win the title for an eighth time.
Manchester United stars Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes have been snubbed as well, in spite of both of them having impressive seasons at club level. The 2022 World Cup young player of the tournament, Enzo Fernandez, has also been excluded from the list of nominees.
2023 Ballon d’Or nominees revealed: Full list of players
Here are the 30 players shortlisted for the award this year:
- 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
Who is the favourite to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or?
After winning the treble with Manchester City and smashing the Premier League’s top goalscorer award, Erling Haaland is the favourite to win the award for many.
But, Lionel Messi is also in the running after finally winning the World Cup with Argentina and finishing as the player of the tournament.
Regardless of the outcome, it is certain to be a very close call between the two players this year.
