THE Ballon d’Or is the highest individual accolade in the game of football.
Last year saw Karim Benzema win the prestigious award after a spectacular campaign.
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema receives the 2022 Ballon d’Or awardGETTY
The Frenchman won the award for the first time in his career after leading Real Madrid to the La Liga title and a 14th European Cup in 2022.
Last season Benzema also scored 27 goals in the Spanish top flight and was the top goalscorer in the Champions League with 15 goals.
This year many are of the opinion that Lionel Messi will be victorious for an astounding eighth time.
The football legend helped Argentina to victory at the Qatar World Cup back in December and was also voted player of the tournament.
Meanwhile, you can’t ignore Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland, who has scored 52 goals in all competitions so far this season.
The Norweigan striker could also win a historic treble this campaign, with City very much in the frame to win the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
When is the Ballon d’Or 2023?
The Ballon d’Or 2023 will take place on Monday, October 30th.The ceremony is expected to begin at 8pm BST.The Theatre du Chatelet in Paris will play host.
What channel is the Ballon d’Or 2023 and can it be live streamed?
Official details for broadcasting of the Ballon d’Or 2023 are yet to be revealed.Fans will be able to live stream the ceremony for FREE via the L’Equipe YouTube channel.
Who are the Ballon d’Or nominees?
André Onana – Inter-Manchester United/Cameroon
Josko Gvardiol – RB Leipzig-Manchester City/Croatia
Karim Benzema – Real-Madrid-Al Ittihad
Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich/Germany
Mohamed Salah – Liverpool/Egypt
Jude Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund-Real Madrid/England
Bukayo Saka – Arsenal/England
Randal Kolo Muani – Eintracht Frankfurt-Paris Saint-Germain/France
Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City/Belgium
Bernardo Silva – Manchester City/Portugal
Emiliano Martínez – Aston Villa/Argentina
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli/Georgia
Rúben Dias – Manchester City/Portugal
Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan/Italy
Erling Haaland – Manchester City/Norway
Yassine Bounou – Sevilla-Al Hilal/Morocco
Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal/Norway
Julián Álvarez – Manchester City/Argentina
Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona/Germany
Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid/Brazil
Lionel Messi – Paris Saint-Germain-Inter Miami/Argentina
Rodri – Manchester City/Spain
Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan/Argentina
Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid/France
Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona/Poland
Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain/France
Kim Min-jae – Napoli-Bayern Munich/South Korea
Victor Osimhen – Napoli/Nigeria
Luka Modric – Real Madrid/Croatia
Harry Kane – Tottenham-Bayern Munich/England
Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?
Lionel Messi – 7: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021Cristiano Ronaldo – 5: 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017Michel Platini – 3: 1983, 1984, 1985Johan Cruyff – 3: 1971, 1971, 1974Marco van Basten – 3: 1988, 1989, 1992Franz Beckenbauer – 2: 1972, 1976Ronaldo – 2: 1997, 2002Alfredo Di Stefano – 2: 1957, 1959Kevin Keegan – 2: 1978, 1979Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – 2: 1980, 1981
What are the odds?
Here are the top listed favourites to win the award:
Lionel Messi – 1/9Erling Haaland – 9/2Kevin De Bruyne – 80/1Kylian Mbappe – 100/1Karim Benzema – 100/1Marcus Rashford – 300/1
*Odds courtesy of Paddy Power and are correct at the time of publication.
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