Ballon D’or 2023 Has Found Its Owner
Argentine footballer Lionel Messi won the Golden Ball (Ballon d'Or) award given to the footballer of the year.
The award, which has been distributed by France Football magazine since 1956, was presented at a ceremony held at the Chatelet Theater in Paris. The ceremony was hosted by Sandy Heribert and former Galatasaray football player Didier Drogba.
Messi, 36, who reached the championship with the Argentine National Team in the FIFA 2022 World Cup hosted by Qatar, won this award for the 8th time in his career.
Norway’s Erling Haaland and France’s Kylian Mbappe were ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Spain National Team and Barcelona star Aitana Bonmati won the best female soccer player award.
Haaland Named Striker Of The Year
The Gerd Müller award for striker of the year went to Norway’s Erling Haaland for his performance for Manchester City.
Haaland, who came to the English club from Borussia Dortmund before last season, played an important role in his team’s trilogy of Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League wins. The 23-year-old scored 52 goals in 53 appearances in all competitions.
The club of the year award went to Manchester City for the men and Barcelona for the women, who won the Spanish League and UEFA Women’s Champions League last season.
Real Madrid’s English star Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Cup for the best under-21 player of the season, while Aston Villa’s Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin award for the best goalkeeper of the year.
The “Golden Ball” award given by France Football magazine between 1956-2009 and the “World Footballer of the Year” award selected by FIFA between 1991-2009 were merged under the name of “FIFA Golden Ball” in 2010. FIFA and France Football magazine ended the partnership of the footballer of the year award given under the name “FIFA Golden Ball” in 2016.
