Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are in the 30-member nomination of players who are fighting to win the Ballon d’Or for the best footballer of the year. The captain of the Argentine national team led the national team to the title at the World Cup in Qatar last December, and the Norwegian striker had a significant role in Manchester City’s first triumph in the Champions League.
For the first time since 2003, the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time winner of the poll, is missing from the list. Among soccer players, the biggest candidate for winning the prestigious award is the reigning world champion from Spain, Aitana Bonmati.
news-item-description">After reaching 850 goals in his career, Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo wants to achieve even more. He crossed this line in Saturday’s league match of his Al-Nassr at Al-Hazem (5:1).
Messi thus has a chance to improve his own record. He won the Golden Ball seven times in thirteen years (2009-2012, 2015, 2019 2021). He currently plays for MLS team Inter Miami, where he joined this summer after two seasons at Paris Saint-Germain.
His biggest competitor for the award, Haaland, netted 52 goals in 53 games in all competitions for City last season and, in addition to the Champions League triumph, also had a hand in winning the treble. City became the second team in English history to win the Champions League, the domestic Premier League and the FA Cup in the same season. Manchester United was the first to do it in the 1998/99 season under the leadership of Alex Ferguson.
The 30-member nomination also includes the Frenchman Kylian Mbappe (PSG) and the Belgian Kevin De Bruyne (ManCity). There is also the current winner of the award, Karim Benzema from France, who ended his 14-year stint at Real Madrid in the summer and signed a lucrative contract with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.
Among the thirty candidates, on the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo, who has had a turbulent year, is absent. After leaving Manchester United, he also headed to the Saudi Pro League, where he wears the Al-Nassr jersey. The name of the winner will be announced at a ceremony on October 30.
Nominations for Ballon d’Or 2023 poll Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Kim Min-Jae (Naples/Bayern Munich)
Victor Osimhen (Naples)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/Bayern Munich)
Lionel Messi (PSG/Inter Miami)
Rodri (Manchester City)
Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
Yassine Bounou (Sevilla/Al-Hilal)
Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City/Barcelona)
Martin Ödegaard (FC Arsenal)
Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
Chviča Kvaraccelli (Naples)
Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt/PSG)
Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid)
Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
Bukayo Saka (FC Arsenal)
Mohamed Salah (FC Liverpool)
Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
Karim Benzema (Real Madrid/Al-Ittihad)
Andre Onana (Inter Milan/Manchester United)
Josko Guardiol (RB Leipzig/Manchester City)
2023-09-06 20:15:00
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