Names Of The Top Six Candidates For The 2023 Ballon D'or Award

Following the conclusion of the Champions League final this season, balloting for the Ballon d'Or award for 2023 will begin.

On June 10, the Champions League final will be held in Turkey at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium.

Recall that Sadio Mane and Kevin de Bruyne were beaten out of the 2022 Ballon d'Or by Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema.

However, this year's Ballon d'Or will feature a lot of excellent players who have excelled for club and nation over the past 12 months, making it a very competitive award.

Prior to the June Ballon d'Or vote, the top six candidates for this year's top individual award:

Lionel Messi: 

After winning the FIFA World Cup in 2022, the Paris Saint-Germain striker is the overwhelming favorite to win what would undoubtedly be his eighth and final Ballon d'Or. Messi's dethronement would undoubtedly require an absurd effort from one of the guys below, which must be a little aggravating during a season where Manchester City striker Erling Haaland still has a chance to lead Pep Guardiola's team to an actual victory.

Erling Haland:

So far this season, the Manchester City striker has broken a wide range of records. A strong candidate for the Ballon d'Or is the 22-year-old. In order to have any chance of winning the Ballon d'Or this year, the Norwegian will realistically realize that he must likely win the UEFA Champions League. Despite winning the Champions League this year, Haaland would not be given Messi's award.

Kevin De Bruyne:

Although the playmaker for Manchester City had a dismal World Cup, he finished third in the Ballon d'Or power rankings last year. De Bruyne, who is 31 years old, may very well believe that it was unfortunate for him to reach the heights of his career during the Messi years. For Pep Guardiola's team this year, he is having a tremendous campaign.

Karim Benzema:

Since he missed the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which is reportedly essential to the 2023 award, it is improbable that the Real Madrid striker who won the Ballon d'Or last year will have another chance to win.

Kylian Mbappe:

Despite five top-10 finishes in the Ballon d'Or power rankings, the Paris Saint-Germain forward has never even made it to the podium. With the Champions League ambition dashed, that is unlikely to change this year. After guiding France to the final of the FIFA World Cup, where they fell to Argentina on penalties, he performed admirably. In addition, Mbappe was awarded the tournament's golden ball for best scoring.

Vinicius Junior:

Even though the Real Madrid player has excelled this year, the Ballon d'Or is incredibly difficult to win when one is still a young footballer.

Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) FC head coach Abubakar Ibrahim commented on the situation as follows: "For me, I think Messi deserves to win the Ballon d'Or this year for winning the 2022 World Cup. Even if Haaland or Benzema wins the Champions League this season, it cannot justify the fact that Messi won the World Cup because both players did not participate in the World Cup.

"However, I will put Messi in number one position, while Haaland will come second and Mbappe will be third World Cup, while Benzema will be in fifth position because he won it (Ballon d'Or) last year. Vinicius will be in fourth position ahead of Benzema because he participated in the World Cup, and he is doing very well for Madrid this season."