Messi or Haaland? 2023 Ballon d’Or nominees revealed with Ronaldo, Rashford and Bruno snubbed

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: 

1. André Onana – Manchester United/Cameroon
2. Josko Gvardiol – Manchester City/Croatia
3. Karim Benzema – Al Ittihad
4. Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich/Germany
5. Mohamed Salah – Liverpool/Egypt
6. Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid/England
7. Bukayo Saka – Arsenal/England
8. Randal Kolo Muani – Paris Saint-Germain/France
9. Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City/Belgium
10. Bernardo Silva – Manchester City/Portugal
11. Emiliano Martínez – Aston Villa/Argentina
12. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli/Georgia
13. Rúben Dias – Manchester City/Portugal
14. Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan/Italy
15. Erling Haaland – Manchester City/Norway
16. Yassine Bounou – Al Hilal/Morocco
17. Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal/Norway
18. Julián Álvarez – Manchester City/Argentina
19. Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona/Germany
20. Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid/Brazil
21. Lionel Messi – Inter Miami/Argentina
22. Rodri – Manchester City/Spain
23. Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan/Argentina
24. Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid/France
25. Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona/Poland
26. Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain/France
27. Kim Min-jae – Napoli/South Korea
28. Victor Osimhen – Napoli/Nigeria
29. Luka Modric – Real Madrid/Croatia
30. 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.