It’s that time of the year where the nominees for the Ballon d’Or have been announced. France Football have adjudged the 30 best footballers of the last 12 months, and five of those up for the award are from LaLiga.
Real Madrid have three nominees for the award, whereas Barcelona have two. Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and Luka Modric will hope to make it back-to-back winners for Los Blancos (after Karim Benzema’s success in 2022), while Robert Lewandowski and Ilkay Gundogan are in contention for Barcelona. Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann is also nominated after an exceptional 2022-23 season.
Ballon d’Or — five candidates 2/6 🏆✨
Randal Kolo Muani 🇫🇷
Jude Bellingham 🏴
Kevin de Bruyne 🇧🇪
Bernardo Silva 🇵🇹
Bukayo Saka 🏴 pic.twitter.com/VwzfilY3sq— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 6, 2023
Ballon d’Or — five candidates 4/6 🏆✨
Martin Ødegaard 🇳🇴
Ilkay Gündogan 🇩🇪
Julián Álvarez 🇦🇷
Yassine Bono 🇲🇦
Vinicius Jr 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/nyPuH8r662— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 6, 2023
Ballon d’Or — five candidates 5/6 🏆✨
Robert Lewandowski 🇵🇱
Antoine Griezmann 🇫🇷
Lautaro Martínez 🇦🇷
Lionel Messi 🇦🇷
Rodri 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/LLi9w42ntn— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 6, 2023
Ballon d’Or — five candidates 6/6 🏆✨
Victor Osimhen 🇳🇬
Kylian Mbappé 🇫🇷
Kim Min-jae 🇰🇷
Luka Modrić 🇭🇷
Harry Kane 🏴 pic.twitter.com/1UlPVzR1H9— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 6, 2023
Benzema has again been nominated for the award as a result of his performances for Real Madrid, whom he left during the summer to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad. Ex-Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou is also up for the award.
Barcelona legend Lionel Messi is the favourite to win his eighth Ballon d’Or, having captained Argentina to their third World Cup, and the first of Messi’s career. Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who has been linked with Real Madrid in recent weeks, will also be a frontrunner.
Image via JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images
