The ceremony to crown the best player of the 2022-2023 season will take place On October 30th,: it’s a showdown between Messi and Haaland.
France Football has revealed the list of the thirty candidates for the 2023 Ballon d’Or, the award for the best male player of the 2022-2023 season as voted on by journalists from the top 100 FIFA-ranked countries.
To determine the successor to Karim Benzema, (the winner in 2022), it will be a head-to-head battle between Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland.
There is only one Italian on the list, Inter’s Nicolò Barella, but Serie A is also represented by another Inter player, Lautaro Martinez (as well as André Onana, who is now with Manchester United but is a contender due to his outstanding season in Milan), and by Napoli’s Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia (and Kim Min Jae who is now at Bayern but recognized for his performances with the Azzurri jersey). The award ceremony is scheduled for October 30th.
A showdown is anticipated between Leo Messi, the 2022 World Cup champion and absolute leader of Argentina, and Haaland, the Golden Shoe winner, Champions League top scorer, and winner of the Champions League, Premier League, and FA Cup. For the Argentine, who has since left PSG to join Inter Miami, it would be his eighth Ballon d’Or in his unparalleled career, while the Norwegian giant is chasing his first personal triumph.
Unlike in 2022, the assessment considers the 2022/2023 season rather than the calendar year, which in this case it includes the World Cup in Qatar held between November and December.
THE 30 CANDIDATES FOR THE BALLON D’OR:
Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig/Manchester City), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Andre Onana (Inter/Manchester United), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/Al Ittihad), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid), Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt/PSG), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli), Nicolò Barella (Inter), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Erling Haaland (Manchester City), Yassine Bounou (Sevilla/Al Hilal), Martin Odegaard (Arsenal), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City), Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City/Barcelona), Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (PSG/Inter Miami), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan), Rodri (Manchester City), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Kim Min-Jae (Napoli/Bayern Munich), Victor Osimhen (Napoli), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Harry Kane.
CANDIDATES FOR THE YASHIN TROPHY
The list of the 10 candidates for the Yashin Trophy, which honors the best goalkeeper of the season, has also been announced. The contenders for the award are: Mike Maignan (Milan), Yassine Bounou (Sevilla/Al Hilal), André Onana (Inter/Manchester United), Ederson (Manchester City), Brice Samba (Lens), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal), Dominki Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb/Fenerbahce), Marc-André Ter Stegen (Barcelona).
