The shortlist for the 2023 prize are set to be announced on Wednesday, September 6 – but how is the top 20 likely to look?
The race for the 2023 Ballon d’Or is over, with some of the world’s best footballers having spent the past 12 months vying to succeed 2022 winner Karim Benzema in lifting the Golden Ball in Paris on October 30.
It promised to be a unique Ballon d’Or battle, with the World Cup taking place in the middle of the 2022-23 campaign, meaning it could be a distant memory by the time the votes were cast in August. There is no doubt, however, that playing a starring role in Qatar boosted some players’ chances of competing for the Golden Ball, even with the winners of domestic and European titles grabbing the late-season attention.
Who, then, has put themselves in the frame for the biggest individual honour of them all as we await the nominations reveal on September 6? Join GOAL as our 12-month Ballon d’Or Power Rankings journey comes to a conclusion…
