Ballon d'Or remains one of the most anticipated ceremonies of the year.
A number of football stars have competed throughout the calendar year to grab the prestigious award, and the list of frontrunners has now been made public.
The journey to the award has been a challenging one for all of the nominees, as it required huge dedication on and off the pitch. We have already been the spectators of another historical night and found out the winner of the award for 2023 - Lionel Messi. Erling Haaland finished second. Kylian Mbappe was third.
Who won the Ballon d'Or 2023? Ballon d'Or full rankings revealed 2023
Messi won the award for a record 8th time following a staggering year after winning the World Cup 2022 with Argentina as well as moving to Inter Miami.
Haaland was one of the favorites to win the award after having an impressive season with Manchester City following his move in the summer of 2022. The Norwegian scored numerous goals, broke numerous records, and won a Treble with City, including the Champions League trophy.
Mbappe finished third, following another great season with the club and country. With France, the attacker reached the final and came in second following a defeat to Argentina. With PSG, the 24-year-old won Ligue 1.
The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023 winners have already been revealed as well ina ceremony that took place on January 15. Below is the roster of winners for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2023:
- The Best FIFA Men's Player: Lionel Messi
- The Best FIFA Women's Player: Aitana Bonmati
- The Best FIFA Men's Coach: Pep Guardiola
- The Best FIFA Women's Coach: Sarina Wiegman
- The Best FIFA Men's Goalkeeper: Ederson
- The Best FIFA Women's Goalkeeper: Mary Earps
- FIFA Fair Play Award: Brazil men's national team
- FIFA Puskas Award: Guilherme Madruga
- FIFA Fan Award: Hugo Daniel "Toto" Iniguez
- FIFA Special Award: Marta
- FIFA FIFPRO Men's World 11: Thibaut Courtois, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, John Stones, Jude Bellingham, Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Vinicius Junior, Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland
- FIFA FIFPRO Women's World 11: Mary Earps, Lucy Bronze, Olga Carmona, Alex Greenwood, Aitana Bonmati, Ella Toone, Keira Walsh, Lauren James, Sam Kerr, Alex Morgan & Alessia Russo
The 2024 Ballon d'Or format
UEFA and Groupe Amaury have unveiled a collaboration to jointly organize the prestigious Ballon d'Or starting in 2024. According to UEFA's official website, this partnership is intended to elevate the prestige and worldwide recognition of the awards while also promoting unity and cooperation within the football community.
In line with the arrangement, Groupe Amaury remains ownership of the Ballon d'Or brand and retains its responsibility for the existing voting system, which will remain unaltered and independent. UEFA, on the other hand, will leverage its football knowledge, manage worldwide commercial rights, and orchestrate the annual awards ceremony.
Additionally, two new awards will be introduced to recognize the best men's and women's coaches of the year. The existing trophy categories and names, such as Men's Ballon d'Or, Women's Ballon d'Or, Kopa Trophy (best player under 21), Yashin Trophy (best goalkeeper), Gerd Müller Trophy (top scorer in the previous season), Men's Club of the Season Trophy, Women's Club of the Season Trophy, and the Sócrates Award (for humanitarian work), will remain unchanged.
France Football will make the first list of 30 applicants public. A jury of 170 expert journalists, one from each FIFA-affiliated nation, will then select five players with point values of six, four, three, two, and one to determine the winner.
The player's individual performance is the subject of criterion number one, their collective performance is the subject of criterion number two, and their class and fair play are the subject of criterion number three.
The career criterion for the player has been removed as a means of assessment. Put another way, the Ballon d'Or honors the season without taking into account a player's prior performance.
Jude Bellingham is the Ballon d'Or favorite
Due to his performance following his first year at Real Madrid, Jude Bellingham is the top favorite to win his first Ballon d'Or.
The England international joined Los Blancos in the summer and became La Liga’s top goalscorer after just 10 games having scored 10 goals. Meanwhile, in the Champions League, he has scored 4 goals in 3 games.
Image Source: Getty Images
In the editions of 2017 (Cristiano Ronaldo won both awards), 2018 (Luka Modric), and 2022 (Karim Benzema), the UEFA Men's Player of the Year aligned with the Ballon d'Or.
Lionel Messi took the award home a record eight times during his career.
At VBETNEWS, we have taken a closer look at the candidates and their achievements this season.
Jude Bellingham
- La Liga top goalscorer with 16 goals
- Spanish Super Cup winner
Kylian Mbappe
Image Source: Getty Images
- 34 goals in 35 games
- On top of the Ligue 1 table with PSG
Erling Haaland
Image Source: Getty Images
- 29 goals in 33 games
- Club World Cup winner
Lautaro Martinez
Image Source: Getty Images
- 26 goals in 35 games
- On top of Serie A table with Inter
- Supercoppa Italiana winner
Harry Kane
Image Source: Getty Images
- 26 goals in 34 games
- Bundesliga's top scorer with 24 goals
Although there is plenty of time to find out the Ballon d'Or 2024 winner, check out Ballon d'Or 2024 Rankings by Vbet News.