soccer

Here are the 2023 nominees for Ballon d'Or, Ballon d'Or Feminin

Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland are expected to be the top two candidates on the men's side

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Haaland, Messi
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Erling Haaland (left) and Lionel Messi

Soccer's supreme individual award is back for 2023.

The Ballon d'Or, widely viewed as the most prestigious award in the sport, is awarded to the previous season's best footballer.

French news magazine France Football has presented the honor since 1956, with Argentine icon Lionel Messi claiming it the most times (seven).

And by Oct. 30, when the winner will be announced, Messi may just have another to his tally. Messi was one of 30 nominees on the men's side, with 30 additional players nominated for the Ballon d'Or Feminin, given to the best female footballer of the year.

Messi, whose resume for the year is anchored by his World Cup win with Argentina and, to a lesser extent, his Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain, will mainly be rivaled for the Ballon d'Or by Erling Haaland. The now-23-year-old Norwegian striker did not play in the World Cup but did help Manchester City to a historic treble, along with several individual awards.

Cristiano Ronaldo was not among the nominees for the first time since 2003.

Here's the full list of the nominees for the men's side:

Ballon d'Or 2023 nominees

  • André Onana - Manchester United/Cameroon
  • Josko Gvardiol - Manchester City/Croatia
  • Karim Benzema - Al Ittihad/France
  • Jamal Musiala - Bayern Munich/Germany
  • Mohamed Salah - Liverpool/Egypt
  • Jude Bellingham - Real Madrid/England
  • Bukayo Saka - Arsenal/England
  • Randal Kolo Muani - 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 - Al Hilal/Morocco
  • Martin Ødegaard - Arsenal/Norway
  • Julián Álvarez - Manchester City/Argentina
  • Ilkay Gündogan - Barcelona/Germany
  • Vinícius Júnior - Real Madrid/Brazil
  • Lionel Messi - 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/South Korea
  • Victor Osimhen - Napoli/Nigeria
  • Luka Modric - Real Madrid/Croatia
  • Harry Kane - Bayern Munich/England

On the women's side, Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati leads the way after playing a key role in Spain's recent World Cup triumph. Several English players will look to compete for the honor as well, with Sophia Smith being the sole representative from the United States women's national team.

Here's the full list of the nominees for the women's prize:

Ballon d'Or Feminin 2023 nominees

  • Alba Redondo - Levante Union Deportiva/Spain
  • Kadidiatou Diani - Lyon/France
  • Rachel Daly - Aston Villa/England
  • Linda Caicedo - Real Madrid/Colombia
  • Fridolina Rolfo - Barcelona/Sweden
  • Olga Carmona - Real Madrid/Spain
  • Amanda Ilestedt - Arsenal/Sweden
  • Hayley Raso - Real Madrid/Australia
  • Georgia Stanway - Bayern Munich/England
  • Sophia Smith - Portland Thorns/USA
  • Hinata Miyazawa - Manchester United/Japan
  • Salma Paralluelo - Barcelona/Spain
  • Lena Oberdorf - Wolfsburg/Germany
  • Millie Bright - Chelsea/England
  • Daphne van Domselaar - Aston Villa/Netherlands
  • Sam Kerr - Chelsea/Australia
  • Patricia Guijarro - Barcelona/Spain
  • Ewa Pajor - Wolfsburg/Poland
  • Debinha - Kansas City/Brazil
  • Guro Reiten - Chelsea/Norway
  • Yui Hasegawa - Manchester City/Japan
  • Aitana Bonmati - Barcelona/Spain
  • Jill Roord - Manchester City/Netherlands
  • Alexandria Popp - Wolfsburg/Germany
  • Katie McCabe - Arsenal/Ireland
  • Mary Earps - Manchester United/England
  • Wendie Renard - Lyon/France
  • Mapi Leon - Barcelona/Spain
  • Asisat Oshoala - Barcelona/Nigeria
  • Khadija Shaw - Manchester City/Jamaica
Lionel Messi’s stellar performance with Inter Miami this summer has benefited these three promising soccer players.
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