The Timer’s On For the Ballon d’Or 2023 as Messi Battles Haaland
The Ballon d’Or is still the most prestigious individual award in football, despite the efforts of FIFA’s The Best accolades to challenge it.
Ballon d’Or deliberations are frequently contentious, and the winner’s career is frequently remembered as a turning point. It is not based on the calendar year like The Best Awards but on the most recent season.
The Ballon d’Or is selected by France Football magazine, while FIFA selects The Best. Even though both awards recognize an individual’s accomplishments throughout the year, there are differences between them.
The Ballon d’Or is awarded to the year’s finest player, while The Best is bestowed to the season’s best player.
Both awards are presented at various periods of the year. Traditionally, the Ballon d’Or is awarded in December. Typically, the Best Awards are presented in the autumn.
Coming from last season’s accomplishments, it will be difficult to select the 2023 Ballon d’Or winner.
The seven-time winner Lionel Messi could win it an eighth time. Or will Erling Haaland of Manchester City receive the most prestigious accolade for a single player for the first time?
The obvious frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or Feminin is the Spanish player Aita Bonmati. She led Spain to its first-ever World Cup victory and led FC Barcelona to the Champions League win.
Haaland vs Messi
The Ballon d’Or finalists were announced on September 6, 2023, and the event will take place on October 30, 2023.
There is little doubt that the FIFA World Cup and UEFA Champions League will have a significant impact on the winner of the most prestigious individual honor in football. The World Cup is more significant than the Champions League. In the second half of the 2022–2023 season, however, the Man City striker closed the gap on Messi, who had previously won numerous titles.
The 23-year-old was nowhere to be seen in the UCL and FA Cup finals, but his 53 goals in all competitions helped Manchester City achieve an unprecedented treble. Messi completed football by winning the World Cup at the age of 35. Eventually, he claimed the trophy that had eluded him throughout his incredible career.
After his victory in Qatar, he appeared to be on his way to a record-setting seventh Ballon d’Or. However, Haaland’s performance with the Manchester City superteam rendered the case controversial.
In the past, 100 journalists from the top 100 FIFA nations selected their best five players from a selection of thirty. Journalists create a list of their top five choices, and then ballots are cast by a list. The first gets six points with the fifth getting a point in that order.
Inter Miami star Lionel Messi is the favorite to bag the award. Argentina defeated France in the World Cup in December, the forward played a significant role. The Argentine was also crowned player of the tournament in Qatar.
Erling Haaland, from Manchester City, is also a candidate for the award. This season, the striker helped the Blues win the treble.
It’s another year to suggest that the Messi-Ronaldo era has ended. It wasn’t a shock that Al Nassr’s hero was not nominated after his second tenure at Manchester United ended poorly and in disarray.
Messi and Ronaldo are the two players who have received the award the most times in its history. Messi has won it seven times, while Ronaldo has won five times.
