It’s only been a while since Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d’Or. Benzema won the Ballon d’Or for playing an important role in helping Real Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League.
Not long after Benzema won the Ballon d’Or, the discussion about who would be the winner in 2023 started. Football experts have already started guessing who will win the Ballon d’Or in 2023.
Many are basing their performance according to this World Cup. Based on his performance in the World Cup, Argentina captain Lionel Messi is seen as the front-runner in the Ballon d’Or race. According to the Ballon d’Or power ranking published by the famous sports media outlet Goal, Messi is ahead of everyone in the 2023 Ballon d’Or race.
Messi had a high performance throughout the World Cup. Throughout the World Cup, Messi scored a total of 7 goals and provided 3 assists. Because of his high performance, Messi became the best player in the World Cup. Messi has scored 24 goals in the 2022–23 season. He also has 18 assists to his name.
Messi has many other titles ahead of him in 2023. Because of this, Messi is the frontrunner in the race for the Ballon d’Or. Messi is followed by Kylian Mbappe in the Ballon d’Or race.
Mbappe also had a great performance at the World Cup. Mbappe scored a total of eight goals throughout the World Cup. He also won the Golden Boot for being the top scorer in the World Cup. Mbappe scored 28 goals and provided seven assists in the 2022–23 season.
Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland is third in the race for the Ballon d’Or. Since arriving at City, he has been performing at a high level. He has scored 24 goals and provided three assists so far.
Brazil’s Neymar is fourth in the Ballon d’Or race. Although he did not perform as expected in the World Cup due to injuries, Neymar has been performing highly for PSG since the beginning of the season. He has scored 18 goals and provided 15 assists so far.
Similarly, Robert Lewandowski, the Polish forward of Barcelona, is in fifth place in this race. He has scored 20 goals and provided six assists this season.
Here are the power rankings:
20. Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa/Argentina)
19. Achraf Hakimi (PSG/Morocco)
18. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur/England)
17. Luka Modric (Real Madrid/Croatia)
16. Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid/France)
15. Cody Gakpo (PSV/Netherlands)
14. Enzo Fernandez (Benfica/Argentina)
13. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund/England)
12. Jamal Musiala (Baryon Munich, Germany)
11. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal/England)
10. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli/Georgia)
9. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool/Egypt)
8. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City/Argentina)
7. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City/Belgium)
6. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid/Brazil)
5. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona/Poland)
4. Neymar (PSG/Brazil)
3. Erling Haaland (Manchester City/Norway)
2. Kylian Mbappe (PSG/France)
1. Lionel Messi (PSG/Argentina)
