Ballon d’Or Showdown: Messi And The Marketing Powerhouse vs. His Hopeful Challengers

Get ready for the big event; on October 30, the winner of the Ballon d’Or award will be announced. The 30 superstars who are in the running have already had their names made public.

So what is the Ballon d’Or all about?

It’s sort of the Oscars of football, I guess. The award is given annually by France Football magazine to the year’s top performer. It’s the highest accolade a player can obtain on their own.

The midfielder for Manchester City, Rodri, who is one of the nominees, recently revealed his prediction for this year’s winner. He mentioned some legendary players who lost out on the trophy in the past, including Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, and Xavi Hernandez.

Rodri offered some sound advice. “In the end, the team’s accomplishments are what you can control,” he said. These kinds of honors are subjective, so most football players favor team victories.

So who is Rodri’s favorite to win the Ballon d’Or in 2023? He is betting on Leo Messi to win. Erling Haaland, who has been making waves on the pitch and in the marketing industry, shouldn’t be discounted, though. According to Rodri, he has a good chance of succeeding as well.

So, put October 30 on your calendars, and let’s see who wins the coveted Ballon d’Or!

The list of the 30 nominees for the 2023 Ballon d’Or is as follows:

1. Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig and Manchester City)
2. Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich)
3. Andre Onana (Ajax and Manchester United)
4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid and Al-Ittihad)
5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
6. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
7. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)
8. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid)
9. Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt and PSG)
10. Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
11. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli)
12. Nicolo Barella (Inter)
13. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
14. Ruben Dias (Manchester City)
15. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)
16. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
17. Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City and Barcelona)
18. Yassine Bono (Sevilla and Al-Hilal)
19. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)
20. Vinícius Junior (Real Madrid)
21. Rodri (Manchester City)
22. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid)
23. Lionel Messi (Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami)
24. Lautaro Martinez (Inter)
25. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)
26. Kim Min-Jae (Napoli and Bayern Munich)
27. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
28. Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
29. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)
30. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich)