Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented by France Football magazine to the best male player in the world. It has been awarded since 1956, with the exception of 2020, when the award was not presented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ballon d’Or is considered one of the most prestigious individual awards in football and is often referred to as the “world’s best player” award. It is presented to the best male footballer in the world over the previous calendar year, as voted on by a panel of international journalists, coaches, and captains of national teams.
As the World Cup has finished and clubs have resumed their leagues, experts have started predicting the 2023 Ballon d’Or award winner. Let’s take a look at the Ballon d’Or 2023 Power Rankings.
Top 10 Favourites for the 2023 Ballon d’Or Award
Over the years, the Ballon d’Or has been won by some of the biggest names in football, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ronaldo Nazário. The award has also been won by players from a variety of clubs and countries, with players from South America and Europe all being recipients of the award. Let’s see the top contenders for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
Lionel Messi
After a title-winning performance at World Cup 2022, Messi’s Ballon d’Or winning possibilities have been increased greatly. Leo may win the award for his performances in the FIFA World Cup 2022, in which he helped lead Argentina to victory. Messi scored 7 goals and assisted 3 goals in the World Cup.
In addition to that, in the 2022-23 season with Paris Saint-Germain, Messi had a number of notable performances. Through the halfway of the season, he scored 12 goals in 19 games and assisted 14 goals, helping the team to stay at the top of the points table. He has scored goals in the Champions League so far.
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However, Messi is yet to play the rest of the season, along with other tournaments. And the 35-year-old is in impressive form. If Messi can maintain his pre-World Cup and World Cup form and win the Champions League title for PSG at the end of the season, then it can be said that no one can stop him from winning the eighth Ballon d’Or.
Kylian Mbappe
Along with Messi, Mbappe is another top contender to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023. Considering his impressive performance in the 2022-23 season, along with the World Cup, it is certainly a possibility.
For his club, PSG, Mbappe has played 20 games so far and has scored 19 goals already with 5 assists. He also scored seven goals during PSG’s run to the UEFA Champions League. He is the current top scorer in UEFA and has a great chance to show his skill in the Champions League knockout phase starting in February 2023.
Mbappe also just completed a great World Cup tournament with 8 goals, including a hat trick in the World Cup final and 2 assists in 7 matches. This incredible performance leads him to win the Golden Boot. His impressive performances indicate that he is certainly a contender for the Ballon d’Or and could potentially win the award in 2023.
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Erling Haaland
This Norwegian sensation has been a recent sensation. He is making one record after coming to Manchester City from Borussia Dortmund. Although his country did not qualify for the World Cup, his club performance is good enough to compete for the award. With the way he is scoring goals this season, one has to wonder where he will stand at the end of the season.
If he plays like this and if he can bring home the Champions League title, he can win the Ballon d’Or even without participating in the World Cup. It will not be surprising. Also, he has more games to play in the next 6 months.
So far, Haaland has scored 24 goals in 19 matches for Manchester City. In addition to that, Earling also has 3 assists in his bag in the 2022/23 season. Haaland has the potential to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or if he continues to perform at a high level and achieves notable success on the pitch. Nevertheless, Erling Haaland is a talented and successful young footballer who has had a number of impressive performances and achievements in his career so far.
Neymar Jr.
Neymar’s dream of winning the Hexa was shattered after losing to Croatia in the quarter-finals. However, Neymar was in great form before the World Cup. But he could not play two group matches due to injury. He scored a great goal in the quarter to lead the team. Croats equalize the match with a goal at the end of the point. In the end, Neymar’s heart was broken by going to the tiebreaker. He scored 2 goals and one assist in 3 appearances.
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Although Neymar could not sparkle in the World Cup, he had a great performance in 2022-23 for PSG. So far, he has played 20 games and scored 15 goals, along with 12 assists. If Neymar can return to his pre-World Cup form, it can be said that he will be in the race to win the Ballon d’Or. Neymar’s win in the Trophee des Champions may also help him to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023.
Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski’s country Poland had to leave after losing to France in the last sixteen of the World Cup in Qatar. He scored only two goals in four matches in the World Cup. Lewandowski joined the Spanish club Barcelona from Bayern Munich this season. He has 20 goals and 6 assists so far this season.
His club Barcelona has been knocked out in the first round of the Champions League this season. Along with that, they have also been knocked out of the Europa League. So, Lewandowski will need to focus on La Liga to keep his hope for the Ballon d’Or.
Vinicius Junior
Vini received the 6th most votes in the 2022 Ballon d’Or awards, and he showed an outstanding performance in the World Cup. Although he scored only one goal in four appearances and had 2 assists, his infield performance was incredible.
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Further, his performance with Real Madrid is also very promising. Overall he has scored 11 goals so far with nine assists. He also won the UEFA Super Cup for Real Madrid. So, his race to the award depends on the rest of the season as he is the main man at Real Madrid.
Kevin De Bruyne
Although Bruyne had an underwhelming performance in the World Cup, he still has a chance to race for the Ballon d’Or if he can perform well the rest of the season with Manchester City. So far, Bruyne has appeared in 20 games with Man City and scored three goals while he has 15 assists.
He got the seventh most votes in the 2020 award ceremony. However, he is a bit behind this season, and he needs an extraordinary performance for the rest of the season.
Julian Alvarez
His incredible performance at the World Cup has changed the momentum, and he has joined the race for Ballon d’Or as a new entrant. In his seven appearances, Alvarez scored 4 goals, and few of them were match-winning goals. He also has a good performance with his club Manchester City.
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And it is evident that he will get more chances to shine the rest of the season. Overall he has a total of 13 goals and three assists. So, he has a great chance of getting into the Ballon d’Or nominee.
Mohamed Salah
With 16 goals, five assists, and Community Shield in his bucket, Mohamed Salah is one of the top contenders for the 2023 Ballon d’Or. Although he couldn’t contribute to the World Cup as Egypt did not qualify, Salah’s performance with Liverpool kept him in the award race. He was 8th in last year’s Ballon d’Or race, and he may stay in the top 10 if he can continue his performance throughout the season in the Premier League.
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
One of the top stars in the European season so far, “Khvicha” has helped Napoli to lead the Serie A table alongside the Champions League knockout stage. So far, he has scored 10 goals with 11 assists for Napoli in the 2022-23 season. He was also a top contender being ninth last year. So, his performance for the next six months will determine his fate for the Ballon D’or race.
Final Worlds
Based on his current form and achievement, Messi is clearly ahead in the Ballon d’Or 2023 winning race. However, Leo will have close competition with Mbappe as he is also having a great performance with an excellent pace. It is likely that one of these players will end up taking the award, while there are other players who may be in contention.
Source: United News of Bangladesh