Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland lead the men’s shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or, while Aitana Bonmati of Spain leads the women’s nominees.
Messi, 36, has won a record seven Ballon d’Or medals in his brilliant career and is favored to earn another after assisting Argentina to victory in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Erling Haaland will be one of his main rivals after scoring 52 goals in his debut season for Manchester City, helping Pep Guardiola’s team achieve a historic triple of the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League.
Five more Manchester City players have been included on the shortlist, while Kylian Mbappe of Paris Saint-Germain might push Haaland and Messi for the accolade.
Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final and, although losing, brought France within a whisker of defending their championship.
Karim Benzema, who won the award in 2022, is also on the list, but there is no room for Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a disappointing season with Manchester United before joining Saudi club Al-Nassr in January.
The shortlist also includes England’s Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, and Bukayo Saka.
Men’s nominees for Ballon d’Or 2023
- André Onana – Inter-Manchester United/Cameroon
- Josko Gvardiol – RB Lipsia-Manchester City/Croatia
- Karim Benzema – Real-Madrid-Al Ittihad
- Jamal Musiala – Bayern Munich/Germany
- Mohamed Salah – Liverpool/Egypt
- Jude Bellingham – Borussia Dortmund-Real Madrid/England
- Bukayo Saka – Arsenal/England
- Randal Kolo Muani – Eintracht Frankfurt-Paris Saint-Germain/France
- Kevin De Bruyne – Manchester City/Belgium
- Bernardo Silva – Manchester City/Portugal
- Emiliano Martínez – Aston Villa/Argentina
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – Napoli/Georgia
- Rúben Dias – Manchester City/Portugal
- Nicolo Barella – Inter Milan/Italy
- Erling Haaland – Manchester City/Norway
- Yassine Bounou – Sevilla-Al Hilal/Morocco
- Martin Ødegaard – Arsenal/Norway
- Julián Álvarez – Manchester City/Argentina
- Ilkay Gündogan – Barcelona/Germany
- Vinícius Júnior – Real Madrid/Brazil
- Lionel Messi – Paris Saint-Germain-Inter Miami/Argentina
- Rodri – Manchester City/Spain
- Lautaro Martínez – Inter Milan/Argentina
- Antoine Griezmann – Atletico Madrid/France
- Robert Lewandowski – Barcelona/Poland
- Kylian Mbappé – Paris Saint-Germain/France
- Kim Min-jae – Napoli-Bayern Munich/South Korea
- Victor Osimhen – Napoli/Nigeria
- Luka Modric – Real Madrid/Croatia
- Harry Kane – Tottenham-Bayern Munich/England
Women’s nominees for Ballon d’Or 2023
- Aitana Bonmati – Barcelona/Spain
- Millie Bright – Chelsea/England
- Linda Caicedo – Real Madrid/Colombia
- Olga Carmona – Real Madrid/Spain
- Rachel Daly – Aston Villa/England
- Debinha – North Carolina-Kansas City/Brazil
- Kadidiatou Diani – Paris Saint-Germain-Lyon/France
- Mary Earps – Manchester United/England
- Patricia Guijarro – Barcelona/Spain
- Yui Hasegawa – Manchester City/Japan
- Amanda Ilestedt – Paris-Saint Germain-Arsenal/Sweden
- Sam Kerr – Chelsea/Australia
- Mapi Leon – Barcelona/Spain
- Katie McCabe – Arsenal/Republic of Ireland
- Hinata Miyazawa – MyNavi Senday-Manchester United/Japan
- Lena Oberdorf – Wolfsburg/Germany
- Asisat Oshoala – Barcelona/Nigeria
- Ewa Pajor – Wolfsburg/Poland
- Salma Paralluelo – Barcelona/Spain
- Alexandra Popp – Wolsburg/Germany
- Hayley Raso – Manchester City-Real Madrid/Australia
- Alba Redondo – Levante/Spain
- Guro Reiten – Chelsea/Norway
- Wendie Renard – Lyon/France
- Fridolina Rolfo – Barcelona/Sweden
- Jill Roord – Wolfsburg-Manchester City/Netherlands
- Khadija Shaw – Manchester City/Jamaica
- Sophia Smith – Portland Thorns/United States
- Georgia Stanway – Bayern Munich/England
- Daphne van Domselaar – Twente-Aston Villa/Netherlands
