France Football’s Ballon d’Or is the ultimate individual accolade in soccer. Every soccer player worth his salt dreams of climbing up the podium one day and delivering an emotional and proud acceptance speech. Of course, only the best of the very best have managed to win the award, with seven-time winner Lionel Messi and five-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo snatching it the most number of times.
Ballon d’Or 2023: Date & Venue
This year’s Ballon d’Or gala will be held on October 30th (Monday) at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France. Organized by France Football, this will be the 67th edition of the iconic award ceremony.
Ballon d’Or 2023: Nominees & Notable Exclusions
On Wednesday (September 6), France football released the official 30-man shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award. Here are the players who can win the award this year:
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich / Germany)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool / Egypt)
- Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid / England)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal / England)
- Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City / Croatia)
- Andre Onana (Manchester United /Cameroon)
- Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad / France)
- Julian Alvarez (Manchester City / Argentina)
- Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona / Germany)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid / Brazil)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona / Poland)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid / France)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan / Argentina)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami / Argentina)
- Rodri (Manchester City / Spain)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-German / France)
- Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich / South Korea)
- Victor Osimhen (Napoli / Nigeria)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid / Croatia)
- Harry Kane (Bayern Munich / England)
- Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
- Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City / Belgium)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City / Portugal)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli / Georgia)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa / Argentina)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City / Portugal)
- Nicola Barella (Inter Milan / Italy)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City / Norway)
- Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal / Morocco)
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal / Norway)
Manchester City have the most representative in the 30-man shortlist with seven nominations. As a nation, France leads the list of nominations with four.
Of course, not all top players have made the cut in this year’s Ballon d’Or rankings, with Cristiano Ronaldo‘s absence being the most evident. The Portugal icon has failed to make the shortlist for the first time since 2003. He last won the prestigious award in 2017.
Former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar, who recently moved to Al Hilal, has also failed to breach the 30-man shortlist. Other notable exclusions include Real Madrid maestro Toni Kroos, Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller, and Manchester United’s poster boy Marcus Rashford. All three performed admirably over the 2022-23 season but were not deemed better than the shortlisted players.
