Ballon d’Or 2023: Key Highlights

The Ballon d’Or held its 67th ceremony on the evening of October 30 at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

During this ceremony, Argentinian legend Lionel Messi won his eighth Ballon d’Or less than a year after his World Cup triumph in Qatar.

Now with Inter Miami, Messi topped the podium of the 2023 Men’s Ballon d’Or, ahead of Norway’s Erling Haaland, winner of the Champions League with Manchester City, and France’s Kylian Mbappé (PSG), the World Cup runner-up.

In the Women’s Ballon d’Or, Spain and Barcelona FC’s Midfielder Aitana Bonmati won her first-ever Ballon d’Or. The 25-year-old had an incredibly successful year, helping her team win the Spanish Premier League and Champions League and contributing to Spain’s win of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.

During this ceremony, English and Real Madrid Midfielder Jude Bellingham snatched the Kopa Trophy for the best player under 21, while his Brazilian teammate Vinicius Junior won the Socrates Award for humanitarian work.

Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Yachine Trophy for the best male goalkeeper, while Manchester City’s Erling Haaland was awarded the Gerd Müller Trophy for the highest-scoring male striker.

In terms of clubs, Manchester City snatched the award for the Men’s Club of the Year, while the Women’s award went to FC Barcelona Femini.

It should be recalled that Moroccan International Yassine Bounou ranked third in the  Yachine Trophy for the best male goalkeeper and thirteenth in the final Ballon d’Or men’s ranking ahead of FC Barcelona’s Ilkay Gundogan, Argentinian goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, and last year’s Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema.

Here is the full Ballon d’Or Men’s Ranking:

1. Lionel Messi (PSG, Inter Miami & Argentina)
2. Erling Haaland (Man City & Norway)
3. Kylian Mbappe (PSG & France)
4. Kevin De Bruyne (Man City & Belgium)
5. Rodri (Man City & Spain)
6. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid & Brazil)
7. Julian Alvarez (Man City & Argentina)
8. Victor Osimhen (Napoli & Nigeria)
9. Bernardo Silva (Man City & Portugal)
10. Luka Modric (Real Madrid & Croatia)
11. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
12. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
13. Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Al Hilal & Morocco)
14. Ilkay Gundogan (Man City, Barcelona & Germany)
15. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)
16. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, Al Ittihad & France)
17. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli & Georgia)
18. Jude Bellingham (Dortmund, Real Madrid & England)
19. Harry Kane (Spurs, Bayern Munich & England)
20. Lautaro Martinez (Inter & Argentina)
21. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid & France)
22. Kim Min-Jae (Napoli, Bayern Munich & South Korea)
23. Andre Onana (Inter, Man Utd & Cameroon)
24. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal & England)
25. Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig, Man City & Croatia)
26. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich & Germany)
27. Nicolò Barella (Inter & Italy)
28. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal & Norway)
29. Randal Kolo Muani (PSG & France)
30. Ruben Dias (Man City & Portugal)