Ballon d'Or odds 2023 as Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland top list of candidates for football award

With the 2022/23 football season nearing a close, the race for the Ballon d'Or is only heating up.

The award timeline was changed by organisers to encompass the traditional European league campaign, meaning that the 2022/23 Ballon d'Or will take into consideration performances from August 2022 through July 2023.

That includes the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which saw Argentina emerge victorious in Qatar. The team was led by Lionel Messi, whose seven Ballon d'Or awards are the most of any player in the history of the honour.

However, 22-year-old Erling Haaland continues to pour in goals during a magical season, which will challenge the resolve of the voters and could foster a battle of importance between national team glory and club success.

Ballon d'Or 2023 odds

Lionel Messi is leading the charts for the 2023 Ballon d'Or after carrying Argentina to the country's third World Cup title, and the first of his career.

Messi's club season has been a mixed bag, booed occasionally by PSG fans as they crashed out of the UEFA Champions League and stumble toward the Ligue 1 title. Yet he is still in exceptional form, eclipsing 40 goal contributions on the season across all competitions.

But Erling Haaland'srecord-setting Premier League campaign has the Norwegian right on Messi's heels, nearing the Premier League single-season goal scoring mark.

It's a two-horse race between those two players, with everyone else behind them hardly given a chance at winning the crown.

Others within shouting distance include last year's winner Karim Benzema, Messi's club teammate Kylian Mbappe, Man United standout Marcus Rashford, Brazil star Vinicius Jr., and Man City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.

That list clearly includes a mix of players having sparkling campaigns and others appearing more on pedigree, but none can come close to how Messi and Haaland have performed.

Who has won the most Ballon d'Or awards?

The player with the most Ballon d'Or awards all-time is Lionel Messi, who has won it seven times. Behind him is Messi's long-time rival Cristiano Ronaldo with five Ballon d'Or awards.

Only 10 players all-time have claimed multiple Ballon d'Or awards. There have been 34 other players who have claimed the Ballon d'Or once in their career.