In less than two months, the football world will see one of the top players in the planet be crowned the Ballon d’Or winner.
The winner of the most prestigious individual trophy will be an amalgamation of votes from select football journalists from FIFA’s 100 top-ranked member nations. A vital rubric for the nominees to win the renowned Golden Ball votes are their production during the 2022-23 season and of course their FIFA World Cup performance.
Karim Benzema is the current Ballon d’Or winner with his world-class showing during the 2021-22 season, but the Ballon d’Or 2023 results may not declare a back-to-back for the Frenchman.
Karim Benzema and Luka Modric are the only players in the last 10 years to bag the Golden Ball not named Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, but that trend may go back to its old ways with Messi sitting pretty on SBOTOP’s latest power rankings.
#5 Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Kevin De Bruyne deserves to be considered for the award. Mr. Manchester City has been the club’s rock and glue-guy more and more each year since he signed with the team back in 2015.
With his keen vision and control, De Bruyne tallied a cool 16 assists in the Premier League alone and 28 assists in all competitions in the 2022-23 season. Alongside Erling Haaland, De Bruyne bagged a couple of prestigious hardware last season with Manchester City.
De Bruyne was ranked fourth in the last Ballon d’Or Power rankings, but due to injuries and setbacks, he slips to the fifth spot in this list.
#4 Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Vinicius is one young superstar who is a deserving Ballon d’Or nominee. The lone Brazilian in the list played a consistent and dependable game for Real Madrid last season.
He tallied 25 goals and provided 26 assists across all competitions during his 2022-23 campaign. With Real Madrid, Vini Jr. has won the UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup, and Copa del Rey.
Even though flopping in the Champions League may hurt his chances to win the Golden Ball, the young Brazilian has been improving each year, and is already one of the top football players in the world right now.
#3 Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Six-time Ballon d’Or nominee Kylian Mbappe hopes that the seventh time’s the charm. The Frenchman had a magnificent outing last season tallying a combined 55 goals and 14 assists for Paris Saint-Germain and France.
Even though France came short in the 2022 World Cup, falling to the hands of the Messi-led Argentina squad, Mbappe still had a stellar tournament.
The Frenchman recorded eight goals in the World Cup, including a hat-trick in the final which cemented his case to win the Golden Boot. Not to mention, Mbappe also won yet another Ligue 1 title last year making it his fifth.
At only 24 years old, Kylian has already won the World Cup, UEFA Nations League, five Ligue 1 titles, and three Coupes de France.
#2 Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Erling Haaland just turned 23 years old last July, but he has already made his case as one of the best football players in the world. Saying that the Norwegian juggernaut had a stellar campaign last year would be an understatement.
Finding the back of the net 56 times across all competitions, Haaland led Manchester City have won the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League all in the same year.
Being the best player on a team that secured the historic treble will definitely earn Haaland votes to win the Ballon d’Or.
#1 Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is still the favorite in to win the Ballon d’Or as per the Ballon d’Or 2023 odds. The football legend led Argentina to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which buoyed his chances to win the Golden Ball.
Leo cemented his GOAT status last year and has solidified his spot in the pantheon of the football gods. Despite falling short in the Champion’s League with his then club Paris Saint-Germain, Messi still dished out 32 goals and 35 assists across all competitions and won two Ligue 1 trophies and the French Champions Trophy during his short lived two-year stint with PSG.
Lionel Messi is now playing in the MLS. Signed with Inter Miami, Leo played just 11 matches with the club but has already made an astronomical impact.
Since his signing, Inter Miami has been undefeated and even took home the 2023 Leagues Cup. Messi was in form and on target scoring 11 goals and eight assists.
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