Ballon d’Or 2023 nominees Finalists revealed: Will Messi or Haaland win?

France Football announces its 30-player shortlist for the men’s Ballon d’Or on Wednesday.

Seven-time winner Lionel Messi is favored to take home another trophy after finishing his career in World Cup glory with Argentina in Qatar 2022. Messi last won in 2021 and is the all-time leader, with his seven Ballon d’Ors ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who won five times.

Erling Haaland is Messi’s main rival, scoring 52 goals in all competitions in his first season at Manchester City, while Pep Guardiola’s side trebled that.

While making it to the final 30 is no small feat, there are only a small handful of players who have a real case to pick up the big prize.

Lionel Messi has returned to the Ballon d’Or nominees as four Argentine players have been nominated.

Messi is back in the list of names nominated for the Ballon d’Or after being left out last year. The record seven-time winner is one of the favorites to win the trophy.

Argentina have four names in total with Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez, and Emiliano Martínez also being included.

Here is the full list of 30 finalists.