September 06, (THEWILL) – The nominees for football’s most prestigious individual honours, the 2023 Ballon d’Or Awards, will be announced on Wednesday.
As is the standard, 30 male and 20 female players are expected to make the shortlist for the coveted prizes. The annual awards, presented to the best male and female footballers of the year, will reveal their nominees on Thursday. There will also be 10 nominees named for the Yashin Trophy for best goalkeeper and the Kopa Trophy for best Under-21 player.
Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to a dramatic World Cup triumph in December, is strongly favoured to claim a record-extending eighth Ballon d’Or. The 36-year-old PSG star, now with MLS club Inter Miami, scored 7 goals in Qatar including 2 in the final versus France.
Messi is one of just four players to have won the men’s award in the last 15 years alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and defending winner, Karim Benzema. Other contenders this year include Manchester City striker, Erling Haaland and Real Madrid winger, Vinicius Junior.
On the women’s side, Alexia Putellas has won the last two awards but injury will likely rule her out this time. Instead, her Barcelona teammates like Aitana Bonmati and Fridolina Rolfo could be in the running. Australia’s Sam Kerr, France’s Kadidiatou Diani and Germany’s Alexandra Popp are also potential winners.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
