Ballon D'Or 2023: Who are the main challengers to bookies' favourite Lionel Messi?

sportinglife.com

23 October 2023

Ballon D'Or 2023: Who are the main challengers to bookies' favourite Lionel Messi?

The Argentine leads his GOAT rival Cristiano Ronaldo 7-5 in the battle between the trophy's all-time leading winners - no other player has won the crown more than three times.

But Ronaldo is absent from this year's 30-man shortlist for the award for the first time in almost two decades, leaving Messi heavily odds-on to add to his already bursting-at-the-seams silverware cabinet at Monday's glittering Paris ceremony.

This is football, though, and, as the old saying goes, anything can happen.

So, if Messi is to be usurped by a shock winner, who could it be?

Erling Haaland

Manchester City's goal machine is the man the bookies think has the best chance of pipping World Cup winner Messi to global football's top individual prize.

And it's not too tough to see why - the Norwegian absolutely ripped it up after arriving at the Etihad last summer.

Any concerns about how long it would take Haaland to adjust to the perceived step up from the Bundesliga to the Premier League were quickly brushed aside as he hit 25 goals in 19 games in the first half of the season.

Haaland ended up topping the scoring charts with 36 and also led the way in the Champions League with 12, including five in one game against RB Leipzig, as his goals fired City to finally fulfilling their ambition of being crowned kings of Europe.

With 52 goals in total and a Treble to boot, in most years he'd be a shoo-in for the Ballon D'Or but while Messi was completing his legacy by winning the World Cup in Qatar, Haaland was sat at home after Norway failed to even qualify.

Kylian Mbappe

The Golden Boot winner in a World Cup year - the Ballon D'Or is decided on performances from August to July - simply has to be in the conversation for the glamorous gong of the globe's top star.

Kylian Mbappe emulated Sir Geoff Hurst by becoming only the second player in history to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final, with that treble leading him to the top scorer honours for the tournament as a whole on eight goals.

He also bagged braces against Denmark and Poland earlier in the tournament but his hat-trick in the final in Lusail was not enough to help France retain their title as world champions as they lost out to Messi's Argentina on penalties.

Mbappe continued to dominate domestically too as Paris St-Germain swept to yet another Ligue 1 title, becoming the club's all-time leading scorer at the tender age of 24 and winning both the league's top marksman and best player awards.

However, you don't have to look far to work out who set up 11 of his 29 league goals for PSG... yep, that man Messi.

Vinicius Junior

The Brazil maestro increased his goal output for Real Madrid from 22 to 23 in all competitions during the past season but it is arguably his influence off the pitch more than on it that has won him an ever-increasing number of admirers.

The 23-year-old has been vociferous in his protests and condemnation of racism at La Liga stadia, using his platform to highlight an issue that has bubbled under the surface without being properly addressed for far too long.

Why does this matter when it comes to the Ballon D'Or, you ask? Well, while two of the criteria for nomination involve individual and team performance, the third relates to the example set by a player and is more intangible.

But he's hardly lagging in those first two categories either.

Only three La Liga players bettered Vini's 19 goal contributions last season - and he also hit seven goals and five assists in 12 Champions League matches as Real came up just short in their quest to retain their crown as kings of the continent.

Robert Lewandowski

One of the players to outperform Vinicius in the final third in La Liga was Robert Lewandowski, who enjoyed a stunning first season with Barcelona, proving even in the twilight years of his career that he can cut it elsewhere than the Bundesliga.

The 35-year-old hit 33 goals in his maiden campaign with Barca, including 23 in the league as he finished as the top scorer in Spain's top flight. Lewandowski also chipped in with seven assists as Barcelona won La Liga for the first time in four years.

He also scored his first World Cup goals to help Poland to the last 16 in Qatar, where they fell to the French.

Impressive enough on its own but there's also the chance the veteran forward gets the sympathy vote from those with long memories.

Lewandowski seemed nailed-on to win the 2020 prize after perhaps the best season of his career, in which he helped Bayern to Champions League glory, but organisers cancelled the award due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Victor Osimhen

In terms of individual impact on a season since August 2022, the period used to judge contenders by, few players had the sort of effect that Victor Osimhen had on Napoli as they won a first Serie A championship in three decades.

The Nigeria striker had hit double figures with 10 and 14 in his first two campaigns in Naples but beat those tallies combined with 26 last term plus another five in the Champions League as the Italian side reached the quarter-finals.

Those efforts made him a regular in every transfer gossip column going during the summer and he also spearheaded Nigeria's qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Osimhen scored 10 goals as the Super Eagles cruised through their group - that was five more goals than any other player.

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.