30 October 2023 , 21:35
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Lionel Messi scooped his eighth Ballon d’Or award on a glitzy night in Paris on Monday, and while most wouldn’t argue with his win, there were some contentious finishes in the top 30.
Messi was the firm favourite for the gong, having led Argentina to a memorable World Cup win in Qatar in December. But there were plenty of other worthy nominees in the men’s game, with Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland and France and Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe hot on Messi’s heels.
There were 11 Premier League players nominated inside the top 30, with City players dominating following an historic 2022/23 campaign which saw them win the Treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
The order of the top 30 is decided by the votes of 100 journalists, who come from the countries which make up the top 100 of the FIFA rankings. All of the journalists have to pick their top five and points are awarded for the positions and then tallied up and announced by presenter Didier Drogba.
The final top 30 is always bound to spark some debate among fans, with the current form of players sometimes making their rankings seem odd. Meanwhile, many players have moved clubs over the summer. For example Karim Benzema was being judged on his goalscoring form for Real Madrid, but now plays for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, while Andre Onana shone for Inter Milan in the Champions League last season but is now struggling at Manchester United.
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Nevertheless, England fans have been left shocked by the positions of their leading lights Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who are in sparkling form now for their clubs but could only help England reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup, where they were beaten by France.
They are all behind Emiliano Martinez, who was impressed in Argentina’s victorious World Cup campaign but is less so when playing for his club side Aston Villa. There is plenty to debate – which you can do in the comments section – but here is the top 30 from this year’s Ballon d’Or award.
Josko Gvardiol, Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham were all in the top 30 (Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)Ballon d'Or 2023: Men's top 30
30. Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
28. Randal Kolo Muani (Paris Saint-Germain)
28. Martin Odegaard ( Arsenal )
27. Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan)
26. Jamal Musiala ( Bayern Munich )
25. Josko Gvardiol (Manchester City)
24. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
23. Andre Onana (Manchester United)
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22. Kim Min-Jae (Bayern Munich)
21. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
20. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan)
19. Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)
18. Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
17. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
16. Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad)
15. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
14. Ilkay Gundogan ( Barcelona )
13. Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal)
12. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
11. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
10. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
9. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
8. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
7. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
6. Vinicius Jr (Real Madrid)
5. Rodri (Manchester City)
4. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
3. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)
2. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
1. Lionel Messi (Inter Miami)