The captain of the Argentine men's football team, Lionel Messi, was announced as the winner of the 2023 Ballon d'Or award ceremony by its organisers.
The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain player was voted the winner of the award following his impressive performance at the 2022 FIFA World Cup hosted in Qatar. Lionel Messi led his team to win the most lucrative competition for the first time since 1986 when Diego Maradona led them to win the tournament. He has also been impressive for Inter Miami since his arrival at the MLS, leading them to their first-ever trophy in the history of the club.
Messi is the first player to win the award eight times in the history of football followed closely by his arc rival, Cristiano Ronaldo who has won the award five times. He scored 28 goals and 23 assists having played 48 games in the calendar year.
Manchester City's forward player, Erling Haaland who was expected to win the award by some football fans because of his impressive performance in helping the Cityzens with the treble last season ( 2022/23) came in second place. The 23-year-old broke a lot of records in his first season with City, he scored 56 goals and nine assists in 57 games.
However, Messi's former teammate at Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe came in third place. The captain of the French national team led France to the final of the World Cup becoming the first player in the competition's history to score a hat trick in a World Cup final, but lost the competition to Argentina through penalty shoot-outs.
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What is the Ballon d'Or award?
The Ballon d'Or is one of the most prestigious individual awards in the world of football. It is an annual accolade presented by France Football magazine to the best male football player in the world. The award, which has been in existence since 1956, is highly sought after by footballers as it recognizes their outstanding performances over a calendar year.
Who were the 2023 Ballon d'Or Nominees?
Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
Andre Onana (Manchester United)
Karim Benzema (Al Ittihad)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint Germain)
Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Nicola Barella (Inter Milan)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal)
Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona)
Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)
Rodri (Barcelona)
Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-German)
Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich)
Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
Where was the 2023 Ballon d'Or award ceremony held?
The 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony was held at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France, on Monday, October 30, 2023.
