Ballon d'Or top 10 rankings reordered by AI with Erling Haaland dropping down
The 2023 Ballon d'Or results prompted plenty of debate, with Lionel Messi pipping Erling Haaland to first place, but an AI-generated ranking doesn't even have the Manchester City star on the podium.
Haaland broke the Premier League record for goals in a single season at the first time of asking, also helping his team win their first-ever Champions League title as part of a famous treble. This wasn't enough for him to overcome Messi, though, with the veteran's World Cup win seeing him win a record-extending eighth award.
Several pundits and ex-pros felt Haaland was hard done by, with ex-Norway star Gunnar Halle saying "I'm not sure what else he could have done".Mirror Football has consulted AI for an alternative top 10, though, and it's more bad news for the former Borussia Dortmund frontman.
First, a reminder of the actual Ballon d'Or rankings from 10 to 1. Robert Lewandowski, Julian Alvarez and Victor Osimhen just crept into the top 10, with Manchester City pair Ilkay Gundogan and Rodri ahead of them in seventh and sixth respectively.
Kevin De Bruyne snuck into the top five, with Vinicius Jr. just above the Belgium midfielder. Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland joined Lionel Messi on the podium, with the Argentina star claiming the top spot. What of the AI-generated top 10, though? Well, we asked for a new ranking of the same 10 players there are quite a few changes.
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Has AI got things wrong? Have your say in the comments section
Lionel Messi became an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner in 2023 (AP)10. Vinicius Junior
The biggest drop is not for Haaland, but rather for Vinicius Junior. The Real Madrid star finishes at the bottom of the new list after a season in which the Copa Del Rey was his only trophy.
Brazil international Vini managed 23 goals in all competitions, the best return of his career, including one against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals. Real Madrid lost that tie 5-1 on aggregate, though, and finished 10 points adrift of Barcelona in La Liga.
9. Rodri
Rodri has developed a habit of scoring big goals for Manchester City, and his winner in the Champions League final was one of the latest examples. His strike in Istanbul ended up being the only goal of the game as City downed Inter Milan to complete the Treble. That wasn't enough for our AI overlords, though. He drops a few spots, becoming the lowest-ranked City player on the list.
Rodri scored the winning goal in the Champions League final (Paul Greenwood/Colorsport/REX/Shutterstock)8. Ilkay Gundogan
Gundogan sits just ahead of his former midfield partner. The Germany international left City for Barcelona over the summer, but not before winning a trio of trophies in his final season.
After helping City win the title in 2022, he came up trumps again 12 months later. This time it was in the FA Cup final, where his two goals helped down Manchester United.
7. Victor Osimhen
There's not much difference when it comes to Osimhen. The Nigeria international jumps one place, from eighth to seventh, but still can't crack the top five.
Victor Osimhen helped Napoli end their long wait for a Serie A title (Andrea Staccioli/Insidefoto/REX/Shutterstock)Osimhen's 26 goals helped Napoli win Serie A for the first time in a generation, while also giving him the Capocannionere award - the first African player to claim the honour. While things have been tricky for the reigning champions this term, their leading man still has six goals in 12 outings.
6. Julian Alvarez
Alvarez couldn't have asked for a much better debut season in English football. His trio of trophies owed a fair bit to the goals he contributed himself - 17 in all competitions, including one against Real Madrid in the Champions League semis.
His placement ahead of some other City stars on this list may owe a bit to his exploits for Argentina at the World Cup. He scored four times in Qatar,r, including twice in the semi-final, as the Albiceleste claimed glory.
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5. Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland scored four hat-tricks in his first Premier League season (Getty Images)Haaland did more or less all that was asked of him in his first Premier League season. His 36-goal return is still scarcely believable, while he was responsible for four of the eight hat-tricks scored in the competition in the 2022-23 campaign.
If we're being harsh, we might point to his failure to score in the semis or final of City's two cup wins. He did still score 12 times in 11 Champions League games, though, and surely that counts for something.
4. Robert Lewandowski
Lewandowski, like Haaland, left the Bundesliga for new climes in the summer of 2022. Unlike his former rival, though, he did so shortly before his 34th birthday.
All this makes his return of 33 Barcelona goals very impressive, with 23 of those coming in a domestic title campaign. The veteran top-scored in La Liga, and also helped Poland reach the last 16 of the World Cup, but it's up to you whether you think that's worth a higher ranking than Haaland's achievements.
3. Kylian Mbappe
Eight World Cup goals weren't enough for Kylian Mbappe (Getty Images)Sorry Kylian, the AI agrees with the Ballon d'Or voters and still thinks third place is right. Not that the French forward is likely to be too upset after admitting Messi deserved to beat him.
The former Monaco star was the top scorer in Ligue 1 with 29 goals, and the top scorer at the World Cup after scoring a hat-trick in the final. Had that hat-trick been enough to help France beat Argentina, he might well have topped the podium.
2. Kevin De Bruyne
There's still a Manchester City player in top spot in the AI ranking, but it's not their top scorer. De Bruyne limped out of the Champions League final in the first half, but he'd enjoyed another impressive season before then.
The Belgian international's 16 assists in the Premier League was the best return in the league, while no one produced more than his seven in the Champions League. And that's before you get to his ability to score big goals in big games.
1. Lionel Messi
Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami over the summer (AP)When it comes to the top spot, there's an agreement between the robots and the humans. Messi is still number one, regardless of who's asking.
Just like De Bruyne, Messi produced 16 league assists to help his team win the title, while he also chipped in with 16 goals. It was all about the World Cup, though, where his seven goals and three assists helped Argentina end their long, long wait for glory.
"I couldn't imagine having the career I've had and everything I've achieved, the fortune I've had to be part of the best team in history," Messi said while accepting his award. He's unlikely to need the extra approval of AI, but he's got it all the same.
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