Football fans around the world are eagerly awaiting the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony on Monday.
Recent leaks indicate that the winner of the 2023 Ballon d’Or will be Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
The list of candidates for the Ballon d’Or this year includes 30 world-star players, led by Messi, as well as the Norwegian Erling Haaland, French Mbappe, and Egyptian legend Mohamed Salah.
Meanwhile, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, the star of the Saudi Al-Nasr club, was absent from the list of candidates for the first time since 2005.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony begins at nine pm Cairo and Saudi Arabia time, and 10 pm UAE time.
The ceremony will be held in the French capital, Paris.
It is organized by the famous France Football magazine, under the auspices of FIFA.
Messi won the Ballon d’Or seven times throughout his career, and the closest player to him on the list is Ronaldo, who won the award five times.
Messi led the Argentine national team to win the 2022 World Cup title in Qatar. He also won the league and cup titles with Paris Saint-Germain in France before leaving last summer to Inter Miami in the US.
The Ballon d’Or ceremony this year will be broadcast on the beINSports HD channel.
The list of candidates for the 2023 Ballon d’Or
- 1- Mohamed Salah – Liverpool.
- 2- Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich.
- 3- Joško Gvardiol – Manchester City.
- 4- Andre Onana – Manchester United.
- 5- Karim Benzema – Al-Ittihad.
- 6- Bukayo Saka – Arsenal.
- 7- Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City.
- 8- Jude Bellingham – Real Madrid.
- 9- Bernardo Silva – Manchester City.
- 10- Randal Kolo Muani – Paris Saint-Germain.
- 11- Erling Haaland – Manchester City.
- 12- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli.
- 13- Rúben Dias – Manchester City.
- 14- Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan.
- 15- Emiliano Martinez – Aston Villa.
- 16- Yassine Bounou – Al Hilal.
- 17- Vinicius Junior – Real Madrid.
- 18- Martin Odegaard – Arsenal.
- 19- Gundogan- Barcelona.
- 20- Julian Alvarez- Manchester City.
- 21- Lionel Messi – Inter Miami.
- 22- Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid.
- 23- Rodri- Manchester City.
- 24- Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona.
- 25- Lautaro Martinez – Inter Milan.
- 26- Kylian Mbappe – Paris Saint-Germain.
- 27- Harry Kane – Tottenham.
- 28- Luka Modric – Real Madrid.
- 29- Victor Osimhen – Napoli.
- 30- Kim Min Jae – Bayern Munich.
