Lionel Messi is the bookies favourite to win the Ballon d’Or
(AFP via Getty Images)
The Ballon d’Or awards ceremony takes place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris this evening when football’s most prestigious prize is presented to the best footballer from the 2022/23 season.
Lionel Messi, the favourite to win the Ballon d’Or, is the most decorated winner of all time with seven triumphs to his name. His heroics in helping Argentina win the World Cup mean Messi looks likely to extend his record with an eighth win but he faces competition from Manchester City’s Erling Haaland who had a record-breaking season of his own and PSG’s Kylian Mbappe after he won Ligue 1 and played a huge part in taking France to the World Cup final.
The women’s award, the Ballon d’Or Féminin, will also be handed out this evening. Spain’s Aitana Bonmati is the favourite to succeed Alexia Putellas as the award winner after leading Spain to their Women’s World Cup triumph and Barcelona to the Women’s Champions League but there may be some surprises in store at the ceremony.
Follow along for the latest updates from the Ballon d’Or awards in Paris with our liveblog below:
Lionel Messi is no longer the best in the world but he still deserves one last Ballon d’Or
For the eighth and probably last time, Lionel Messi will win the Ballon d’Or tonight. Messi will beat competition from Manchester City’s treble-winners, an inevitable result after he inspired Argentina to their first World Cup since Diego Maradona did the same in 1986. The betting has stopped, and the only mystery left at the Paris ceremony is to guess the fabric of his suit.
Messi’s journey can be told in football and in fashion choices. He collected his first Ballon d’Or in 2009 wearing a basic black suit and tie, looking like a boy at the school prom, and with each passing year his attire became more bold: the bow tie and tux in 2010, the velvet sheen in 2011 and the garish polka dots in 2012 symbolising the blooming confidence of a young man who could do no wrong, who could take a hideous suit like a bad pass and turn it into something great, or at least slightly less hideous, by dint of his own brilliance.
Things got a little out of hand in 2013 when he wore a full red ensemble, an outfit which, in hindsight, didn’t deserve to win. Messi was beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo two years in a row, and when he finally resumed his throne in 2015, he did so back in a classic black tuxedo. In 2019, Messi’s simple grey tie was a suitably sombre look to end his four-year winless drought, before the shimmering sparkles of 2021 which lit him up like a galaxy as he claimed No 7.
Lawrence Ostlere takes a look at Messi’s magic – and his wardrobe – as the Ballon d’Or awards approach:
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 19:12
Ballon d’Or awards LIVE
…and the ‘modern’ era, also known as the Cristiano and Messi era. It’s fairly routine and repetitive, as far as being continually the greatest (as voted by those who do, at least) goes.
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
2009 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2010 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2011 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2012 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2013 Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
2015 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal
2018 Luka Modric, Croatia
2019 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2021 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2022 Karim Benzema, France
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 19:06
Ballon d’Or awards LIVE
How about a trek through history and the previous winners of the Ballon d’Or?
All the way back to 1990 we go! Let’s face it, not much point starting 2008 or any later as there aren’t too many names on it from that point…!
- 1990 Lothar Matthaus, Germany
- 1991 Jean Pierre Papin, France
- 1992 Marco van Basten, Netherlands
- 1993 Roberto Baggio, Italy
- 1994 Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgaria
- 1995 George Weah, Liberia
- 1996 Matthias Sammer, Germany
- 1997 Ronaldo, Brazil
- 1998 Zinedine Zidane, France
- 1999 Rivaldo, Brazil
- 2000 Luis Figo, Portugal
- 2001 Michael Owen, England
- 2002 Ronaldo, Brazil
- 2003 Pavel Nedved, Czech Republic
- 2004 Andriy Shevchenko, Ukraine
- 2005 Ronaldinho, Brazil
- 2006 Fabio Cannavaro, Italy
- 2007 Kaka, Brazil
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 19:00
Ballon d’Or shortlist: Who are the nominees for 2023 award tonight?
Ballon d’Or 2023: Who is nominated for the Kopa Trophy?
- Xavi (RB Leipzig / PSV Eindhoven)
- Jamal Musiala (FC Bayern)
- Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund / Real Madrid)
- Alejandro Balde (FC Barcelona)
- Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid)
- Gavi (FC Barcelona)
- Rasmus Höjlund (Atalanta / Manchester United)
- Pedri (FC Barcelona)
- Antonio Silva (Benfica)
- Elye Wahi (HSC Montpellier / RC Lens)
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 18:54
Ballon d’Or shortlist: Who are the nominees for 2023 award tonight?
Ballon d’Or 2023: Who is shortlisted for the Yashin Trophy?
- Brice Samba (Lens)
- Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb and Fenerbahce)
- Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
- Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
- Ederson (Manchester City)
- Marc-Andre Ter Stegen (Barcelona)
- Mike Maignan (AC Milan)
- Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
- Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal)
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 18:48
Ballon d’Or shortlist: Who are the nominees for 2023 award tonight?
Ballon d’Or Féminin 2023: Who is nominated for the women’s award?
- Daphne Van Domselaar (Twente and Aston Villa)
- Lena Oberdorf (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Hinata Miyazawa (MyNavi Sendai)
- Millie Bright (Chelsea)
- Salma Paralluelo (Barcelona)
- Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns)
- Hayley Raso (Manchester City and Real Madrid)
- Amanda Ilestedt (Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal)
- Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich)
- Olga Carmona (Real Madrid)
- Fridolina Rolfo (Barcelona)
- Rachel Daly (Aston Villa)
- Alba Redondo (Levante)
- Lina Caicedo (Real Madrid)
- Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais)
- Patricia Guijarro (Barcelona)
- Ewa Pajor (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Guro Reiten (Chelsea)
- Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
- Debinha (North Carlina Courage and Kansas City Current)
- Aitana Bonmati (Barcelona)
- Alexandra Popp (Vfl Wolfsburg)
- Yui Hasegawa (Manchester City)
- Jill Roord (Vfl Wolfsburg and Manchester City)
- Katie McCabe (Arsenal)
- Wendie Renard (Olympique Lyonnais)
- Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
- Mary Earps (Manchester United)
- Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw (Manchester City)
- Mapi Leon (Barcelona)
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 18:42
Ballon d’Or shortlist: Who are the nominees for 2023 award tonight?
Ballon d’Or 2023: Who is nominated for the men’s award?
- Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig and Manchester City)
- Andre Onana (Inter Milan and Manchester United)
- Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and Al-Ittihad)
- Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
- Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
- Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
- Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt and Paris Saint-Germain)
- Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid)
- Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
- Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
- Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
- Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
- Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
- Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
- Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
- Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
- Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City and Barcelona)
- Yassine Bounou (Sevilla and Al-Hilal)
- Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
- Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
- Rodrigo (Manchester City)
- Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami)
- Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
- Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
- Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
- Kim Min-jae (Napoli and Bayern Munich)
- Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
- Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-German)
- Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
- Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich)
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 18:36
Ballon d’Or awards LIVE
A reminder that tonight’s not just about these two major awards for the men’s and women’s game.
We’ll also see the Yashin trophy handed out for the top goalkeeper of the year, and the Kopa trophy for the best youngster around.
The current holders of those two are Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois and Barcelona’s Gavi respectively.
Previous winners of the Yashin are Alisson Becker and Gianluigi Donnaruma.
And the earliest Kopa winners were Kylian Mbappe, Matthijs de Ligt and Pedri.
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 18:30
Ballon d’Or odds list
Not much to split the favourites…only kidding. Leo Messi is far and away the favourite to win after triumphing at the World Cup. Odds from gambling.com:
- Messi 1/9
- Haaland 9/2
- Vini Jr 50/1
- De Bruyne 50/1
- Rodri 50/1
And for the Feminin winner, Aitana Bonmati is a similarly overwhelming favourite:
- Bonmati 1/5
- Carmona 8/1
- Earps 10/1
- Kerr 16/1
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 18:20
Lionel Messi is no longer the best in the world but he still deserves one last Ballon d’Or
For the eighth and probably last time, Lionel Messi will win the Ballon d’Or tonight. Messi will beat competition from Manchester City’s treble-winners, an inevitable result after he inspired Argentina to their first World Cup since Diego Maradona did the same in 1986. The betting has stopped, and the only mystery left at the Paris ceremony is to guess the fabric of his suit.
Messi’s journey can be told in football and in fashion choices. He collected his first Ballon d’Or in 2009 wearing a basic black suit and tie, looking like a boy at the school prom, and with each passing year his attire became more bold: the bow tie and tux in 2010, the velvet sheen in 2011 and the garish polka dots in 2012 symbolising the blooming confidence of a young man who could do no wrong, who could take a hideous suit like a bad pass and turn it into something great, or at least slightly less hideous, by dint of his own brilliance.
Things got a little out of hand in 2013 when he wore a full red ensemble, an outfit which, in hindsight, didn’t deserve to win. Messi was beaten by Cristiano Ronaldo two years in a row, and when he finally resumed his throne in 2015, he did so back in a classic black tuxedo. In 2019, Messi’s simple grey tie was a suitably sombre look to end his four-year winless drought, before the shimmering sparkles of 2021 which lit him up like a galaxy as he claimed No 7.
Lawrence Ostlere takes a look at Messi’s magic – and his wardrobe – as the Ballon d’Or awards approach:
Karl Matchett30 October 2023 18:10
