Ballon d’Or 2023: Power Rankings for every award ahead of the marquee ceremony

The Ballon d'Or was cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19.


Ballon d’Or 2023: Power Rankings for every award ahead of the marquee ceremony

Ballon d'Or (Source: via Reuters)

The 2023 Ballon d’Or Ceremony is on October 30th, hosted by France Football Magazine. It honors the best 2022/23 season players. It’s at Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, hosted by Chelsea legend Didier Drogba. This is the 67th Ballon d’Or since it began in 1956, with Stanley Matthews winning the first one, followed by Alfredo Di Stéfano from Real Madrid.

The Ballon d’Or, previously called the FIFA Ballon d’Or from 2010 to 2015 due to their partnership, saw Lionel Messi win four times (2010, 2011, 2012, 2015) and Cristiano Ronaldo twice (2013, 2014) during those years. The 2023 award ceremony can be watched for free on L’Equipe’s official YouTube channel starting at 6:00 pm (GMT) tonight.

The Socrates Award

Inaugurated in 2022, The Socrates Award is aimed at rewarding players for their charity work outside of football. Al-Nassr’s Sadio Mane was the inaugural winner of the award for his work in his home village of Bambali, Senegal.

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Alex Morgan, Asisat Oshoala, Marcus Rashford, Antonio Rüdiger, Vinícius Júnior
(L-R) Alex Morgan, Asisat Oshoala, Marcus Rashford, Antonio Rüdiger, Vinícius Júnior (Source: via X/@ballondor)

Nominations this year include Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford for his initiative to feed the children of the UK. Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Jr. have also made the list.

The Gerd Muller Award

Named after German striker, Gerd Muller, the award in 2021 was awarded to the player for the most goals in a calendar year. By 2022, the assessment period was switched to ‘throughout the season’ instead. The award was introduced in 2021 and was initially named ‘Striker of the Year’.

Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland (Source: via GOAL)

The inaugural winner and also current title holder is FC Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski who has won the award twice. Erling Haaland‘s incredible season with Manchester City saw him score 52 goals last season and remains the favorite for the tournament.

The Yachine Trophy

In honor of the Soviet goalkeeper, Lev Yashin – the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d’Or – the award is given to the best goalkeeper of the season. Inaugurated in 2019, the award has been won by Alisson, Gianluigi Donnarumma, and Thibaut Courtois.

(L-R) Emiliano Martinez, Ederson
(L-R) Emiliano Martinez, Ederson (via GOAL)

While Manchester City’s Ederson is favored to win due to Manchester City’s Treble, a World Cup for Emiliano Martinez could see the Argentine win the award for himself.

The Kopa Trophy

Given to the best player under the age of 21, the award is named after 1958 Ballon d’Or winner, Raymond Kopa. Kylian Mbappe was the inaugural winner of the award in 2018. Since then it has been won by several other young players with Barcelona‘s Pedri and Gavi being the two recent winners of the award.

Jude Bellingham
Jude Bellingham (Source: via Eurosport)

Jude Bellingham remains a heavy favorite to win the award this season for his amazing performance for Borussia Dortmund last season. He won Bundesliga ‘Player of the season’.

The Ballon d’Or

The most prestigious individual award in football history, the Ballon d’Or is the last award of the night. It is given to the best football player of the year. With many legends of the game lifting the award, many players have called it a ‘dream’ to be called a Ballon d’Or winner.

Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi (Source: via GOAL)

Rumors have circulated online, with many media outlets confirming Lionel Messi will win his 8th Ballon d’Or this year. This is because he had an incredible season with PSG and lifted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He will beat the likes of Erling Haaland who was favoured by many owing to his record-breaking goal-scoring season.

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