Goal has published an updated rating of favorites to win the Ballon d'Or in 2023. 36 year old striker Lionel Messi remains the main candidate for the award.
In the 2022/2023 season the forward played for French Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and also won the FIFA World Cup in 2022 with Argentina.
Other favorites in the top five include Manchester City's Norwegian forward Erling Haaland, French forward and former Messi's PSG teammate Kylian Mbappé, Real Madrid's Brazilian striker Vinicius Júnior and Manchester City's Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
Top 10 contenders for the Ballon d'Or-2023:
1. Lionel Messi (PSG, Inter Miami since the summer of 2023)
2. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
3. Kylian Mbappe of PSG
4. Vinicius Júnior (Real Madrid)
5. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
6. Rodri (Manchester City)
7. İlkay Gündoğan (Manchester City, Barcelona since the summer of 2023)
8. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
9. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
10. Julián Álvarez (Manchester City)