
Ballon d’Or: The most prestigious individual award in football:The Ballon d’Or is an annual football award presented to the player considered to be the best in the world over the previous season. It is widely regarded as the most prestigious individual award in the sport.
The award was first presented in 1956 to Stanley Matthews of England, and has since been won by some of the greatest players in football history, including Pelé, Johan Cruyff, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Ballon d’Or is awarded by a panel of journalists from around the world. Each journalist casts a vote for their top three players, with the player receiving the most first-place votes winning the award.
In recent years, the Ballon d’Or has been dominated by Messi and Ronaldo, who have won the award a combined 12 times since 2008. However, in 2022, Karim Benzema of France won the award for the first time, after a sensational season with Real Madrid.
How is the Ballon d’Or winner selected?
The Ballon d’Or winner is selected by a panel of 100 journalists from around the world. Each journalist casts a vote for their top three players, with the player receiving the most first-place votes winning the award.
The journalists are selected by France Football, the French magazine that created the Ballon d’Or. The journalists are chosen from a variety of countries and represent a wide range of media outlets.
Who are the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023?
The favorites to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023 are:
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France): Benzema had a sensational season in 2022, scoring 44 goals in all competitions and helping Real Madrid win the Champions League and La Liga. He is the defending Ballon d’Or winner and is the favorite to win the award again in 2023.
- Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain, France): Mbappé is one of the most exciting young players in the world and is already a two-time Ligue 1 champion. He scored 39 goals in all competitions in 2022 and is a strong contender to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023.
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway): Haaland is another young player who is taking the world by storm. He scored 29 goals in all competitions for Borussia Dortmund in 2021-22, before joining Manchester City in the summer of 2022. He is already one of the most feared strikers in the world and is a contender to win the Ballon d’Or in the future.
- Lionel Messi is also a contender to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023. He won the World Cup with Argentina in December 2022, and he also had a strong season for Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 42 goals and providing 26 assists in all competitions.
- Messi is the all-time leading scorer for Argentina and Barcelona, and he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. He has won the Ballon d’Or a record seven times, and he is aiming to win his eighth award in 2023.
- However, Messi faces stiff competition from Benzema, Mbappé, and Haaland. All three players had sensational seasons in 2022, and they are all considered to be among the best players in the world.
- It will be interesting to see who wins the Ballon d’Or in 2023. It is a very competitive race, and there are several players who could win the award.
Other players who could challenge for the Ballon d’Or in 2023 include Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich, Poland), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium), and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt).
When will the Ballon d’Or winner be announced in 2023?
The Ballon d’Or winner for 2023 will be announced on October 30, 2023 at a ceremony in Paris, France.