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 2021/22 campaign.
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.
That 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 in December 2022 and was also voted player of the tournament.
Meanwhile, you can’t ignore Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals in all competitions last season and won a historic Treble with his side.
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 TV channel is the Ballon d’Or 2023 and can it be live streamed FREE?
- Fans will be able to live stream the ceremony for FREE via the L’Equipe YouTube channel.
- UK viewers can also watch for FREE on TNTSports.co.uk.
Who are the Ballon d’Or nominees?
Andre 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
Ruben Dias – Manchester City/Portugal
Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan/Italy
Erling Haaland – Manchester City/Norway
Yassine Bounou – Sevilla-Al Hilal/Morocco
Martin Odegaard – Arsenal/Norway
Julian Alvarez – Manchester City/Argentina
Ilkay Gundogan – Barcelona/Germany
Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid/Brazil
Lionel Messi – Paris Saint-Germain-Inter Miami/Argentina
Rodri – Manchester City/Spain
Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan/Argentina
Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid/France
Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona/Poland
Kylian Mbappe – 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
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Who has won the most Ballon d’Or awards?
- Lionel Messi – 7: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021
- Cristiano Ronaldo – 5: 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017
- Michel Platini – 3: 1983, 1984, 1985
- Johan Cruyff – 3: 1971, 1971, 1974
- Marco van Basten – 3: 1988, 1989, 1992
- Franz Beckenbauer – 2: 1972, 1976
- Ronaldo – 2: 1997, 2002
- Alfredo Di Stefano – 2: 1957, 1959
- Kevin Keegan – 2: 1978, 1979
- Karl-Heinz Rummenigge – 2: 1980, 1981
What are the odds?
Here are the top listed favourites to win the award:
- Lionel Messi – 1/9
- Erling Haaland – 9/2
- Kevin De Bruyne – 80/1
- Kylian Mbappe – 100/1
- Karim Benzema – 100/1
*Odds courtesy of Paddy Power and are correct at the time of publication.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
