Vinicius Junior

Ballon d’Or: Six LaLiga stars nominated alongside Lionel Messi for prestigious award

Real Madrid's Brazilian forward #07 Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Spanish Liga football match between UD Almeria and Real Madrid CF at the Municipal Stadium of the Mediterranean Games in Almeria on August 19, 2023. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP) (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

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

Tags Antoine Griezmann Atletico Madrid Ballon d'Or Barcelona Ilkay Gundogan Jude Bellingham Luka Modric Real Madrid Robert Lewandowski Vinicius Junior
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