Who won Ballon d’Or 2023? Final results, Kopa Trophy, Yashin Trophy and much more

Cameron Smith

• Updated: 31 Oct 2023 07:14 GMT
• 19 min read

Lionel Messi has officially won the 2023 Ballon d'Or after being crowned the best player in the world for the eighth time on October 30 in Paris.

The Ballon d’Or is the most prestigious individual award in football, with every player aspiring to win it one day.

The award began back in 1956, with England legend Stanley Matthews the inaugural winner, while Inter Miami and Argentina star Messi is now the reigning champion once again.

One player is crowned as the world’s best player over the course of a domestic season, and the 2023 award was as hotly contested as ever, with Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe running Messi very close.

Here at FootballTransfers, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know about what happened at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony, which was held on Monday 30 October in Paris.

Ballon d'Or 2023 Ranking

What was the shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or?

Before the Ballon d'Or winner is chosen, a shortlist of players is released for voters across the world to choose from.

The full shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d'Or was announced on September 6. The shortlist for the men's award was as follows.

Who was the favourite to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or?

Lionel Messi was the red-hot favourite to win the award for the eighth time, which he managed to achieve, extending his existing record of seven Ballon d'Or wins.

His best price was a mere 1/5 and it would've taken a massive shock to prevent him from winning the award in Paris.

Messi won the World Cup in December 2022 and the World Cup Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament after scoring seven goals and assisting three on Argentina's road to glory. He scored two in the final and also enjoyed a brilliant 2022-23 season with Paris Saint-Germain, as well as being voted the Best Men's Player at the FIFA awards in February. His move to the Major League Soccer with Inter Miami this past summer will not affect his chances.

It was some turnaround for Messi, who wasn't even included on the nominee list in 2022 but bounced back to win the award altogether in 2023.

His former PSG team-mate Kylian Mbappe also had a sensational World Cup. He was top scorer in Qatar with eight goals and became the first player since 1966 to score a hat-trick in the World Cup final, although France lost on penalties.

Like Messi, he shone with PSG domestically - but the Parisians came up short in the Champions League by losing in the last-16. Mbappe was priced at 30/1 to win.

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland enjoyed a prolific first season in the Premier League, meanwhile, and was thought to be Messi's closest challenger by the bookies at 7/2.

He scored 52 goals in all competitions, and won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble in a sensational first season at City following his transfer from Borussia Dortmund.

Haaland's Man City team-mates Kevin de Bruyne and Rodri were both at 45/1. They both played key roles in City's treble-winning campaign.

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski carried his goal-scoring form over from Bayern Munich to La Liga and was in the running, while Napoli duo Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen were both magnificent in leading the Partenopei to a first Scudetto in 33 years.

Vinicius Junior was also among the favourites, as were surprise challengers from Milan or Inter after their brilliant runs in the 2022-23 Champions League.

When did the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony take place?

The 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony took place on October 30. That was when the winners were officially announced to the public.

Where was the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony held?

The Theatre du Chatelet in Paris once again hosted the Ballon d'Or ceremony. The venue also hosted the awards in 2019, 2021 and 2022, so it appears that the Ballon d’Or has found its home.

Who presented the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony?

It’s customary for major football award nights to feature a famous ex-professional player to help host the event. The Ballon d’Or is no different, and Chelsea hero Didier Drogba has now hosted the last four Ballon d’Or ceremonies alongside French journalist Sandy Heribert. They were the hosts for 2023 too.

What were the 2022 Ballon d'Or rule changes?

The Ballon d'Or underwent several big changes in 2022, with the most significant being the new schedule for the prize. While before it was judged based on the calendar year (January to December), that has now been changed in accordance with the regular football season (August to July).

It means a player's entire season will be judged upon, rather than two half-seasons. As a result, the 2022 Qatar World Cup will influence the 2023 Ballon d'Or award, instead of the 2022 edition, due to it taking place in the winter.

The shortlisting process has also experienced a change. It was previously drafted by journalists working for France Football and L'Équipe, but that has now been altered.

Ballon d'Or ambassador Didier Drogba now helps to finalise the shortlists alongside the "most insightful voter" from the previous edition of the award. For the men's 2022 edition, Vietnamese journalist Truong Anh Ngoc, working for The Thao & Van Hoa, had a say in the shortlist while Czech journalist Karolina Hlavackova, working for Ruik, helped finalise the 2022 Women's shortlist.

There have also been changes to the voting system. While 127 jurors, one from each country, were part of the process to decide the winner in 2021, that has now changed.

Now, only the top 100 ranked countries in FIFA's coefficient will be able to have one representative conduct their vote. This has been to eliminate the weakest footballing countries to ensure a fair method of voting didn't include too many people and votes from nations with a perceived lower level of football expertise didn't make an impact.

France Football have also cleared up the rules of how to award the victor. "The Ballon d'Or is an individual award. Also, logically, criterion number 1 will focus primarily on individual performance and the decisive and impressive character of the contenders.

"Since football remains a collective sport despite everything, criterion number 2 will focus on collective performance and the record accumulated during the season. Finally, criterion number 3 will concern the class of the player and his sense of fair play.

"Because setting an example also counts. The most attentive will have noticed the disappearance of the 'player's career' criterion. A way of considering the race for the Ballon d'Or as an open competition, and not as a preserve."

It has focused primarily on a player's individual season, with trophies as part of a team not as important.

How is the Ballon d’Or decided and who votes?

The initial 30-man shortlist is compiled by the editors at France Football, the organisers of the event, as well as Drogba and one selected journalist. Once that list has been completed, a selection of international journalists – one representative from the top 100 nations – and national team coaches and captains come together to decide the winner.

They are each asked to choose their top five players from the 30 selected, and order them from first to fifth based on: individual and collective performances during the year, player class and an overall view of the player’s career.

The player who is selected as the winner by each voter is awarded six points, second-place is given four points, down to one point for fifth place.

The total points for each player from every journalist, coach and captain are then added together to decide third, second and first place.

Who won the 2022 Ballon d’Or?

Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d’Or, securing his first ever Ballon d’Or award. The Frenchman helped Real Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League during the 2021/22 season, scoring 44 goals and assisting a further 15 during the campaign.

READ MORE: Who won the Ballon d’Or 2021? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and hosts

READ MORE: Who won the Ballon d’Or 2022? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and past winners

Benzema beat the likes of Sadio Mane and Kevin de Bruyne, who finished second and third respectively, to win the award.

Why was the 2020 Ballon d’Or cancelled?

The 2020 Ballon d’Or was controversially cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pause in world football in March 2020 caused uncertainty over whether games would be played and if the season would be finished.

Indeed, both Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie ended their seasons early due to the pandemic, while international competitions like Euro 2020 were postponed.

The Ballon d’Or was cancelled on 20 July 2020, with France Football revealing the reason it would not be held was due to the “lack of a sufficiently level playing field” caused by the virus.

They added: "We did not want to put an indelible asterisk on the prize list as ‘a trophy won in exceptional circumstances due to the health crisis of Covid-19’.

"Protecting the credibility and legitimacy of such a prize also means guaranteeing its irreproachability over time."

Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski was the favourite for the award had it not been cancelled.

The Pole was widely considered the deserving winner of the award and there has been a campaign in the footballing world to award him what is perceived to be a deserved accomplishment.

Between the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, Lewandowski had an absurd 101 goals and 18 assists in 85 club games, helping Bayern to the Champions League title in 2020 and also winning the FIFA Best Men’s Player award.

Upon receiving the 2021 Ballon d’Or, Messi acknowledged that Lewandowski should have the 2020 award in his trophy cabinet.

"Robert, you deserve your Ballon d’Or. Last year, everyone was in agreement to say that you were the big winner of this award," he said.

Who has won the most Ballon d’Or trophies?

Lionel Messi has won the most Ballon d’Or trophies in football history. The former Barcelona forward has come out on top eight times.

The Argentina star won the first of his seven trophies in 2009. Further triumphs followed in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021 and now 2023.

Cristiano Ronaldo is next in the standings with five wins. There are three players who have each come out on top three times. They are: Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.

How many Ballon d’Or trophies has Lionel Messi won?

Eight. As well as his record number of victories, Messi has finished in second place for the Ballon d’Or five times and in third position once, giving him 14 appearances in the top three. He won the 2021 award, but he wasn’t even included in the 30-man shortlist in 2022 after his first season at Paris Saint-Germain.

He then won the 2023 edition.

How many Ballon d’Or trophies has Cristiano Ronaldo won?

Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times in his illustrious career. He claimed his first in 2008, with further successes coming in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.

The Portugal star has also recorded six second-place finishes as well as coming third once. He finished sixth in 2021, but came a lowly 20th place in 2022 - his lowest position since 2005. Ronaldo wasn't even nominated in 2023.

What is the Kopa Trophy?

The Kopa Trophy is an award that recognises the best-performing player under the age of 21, and was first introduced in 2018. The award is voted for by former Ballon d'Or winners.

The award is named after Raymond Kopa, a French footballing legend that won three European Cup titles with Real Madrid and won the Ballon d'Or in 1958.

Just like the Ballon d'Or, the Kopa Trophy was cancelled in 2020 so it has only been given out five times, with a different winner on each occasion.

Kylian Mbappe won the inaugural award after helping France to win the World Cup in 2018, before Matthijs de Ligt claimed the prize in 2019 on the back of Ajax's outstanding Champions League campaign.

Pedri was successful in 2021 after a stellar year for Barcelona and Spain. His team-mate Gavi then won the award the following year after a stunning first season at Barcelona in 2021-22 that also saw him break into the Spain squad.

Jude Bellingham is the current holder of the award after emerging victorious in 2023 off the back of an impressive season with Borussia Dortmund before enjoying a record-breaking start to life at Real Madrid.

The 2023 Kopa Trophy shortlist

The shortlist for the best youngster of the year under the age of 21 in 2023 was as follows.

What is the Yashin Trophy?

The Yashin Trophy is awarded to the world's best goalkeeper each year, and is aptly named after Russian Lev Yashin, who is considered by many to have been the best goalkeeper of all time.

Just like the Kopa Trophy, former Ballon d'Or winners cast a vote to decide the winner, and the first award was won by Liverpool's Alisson Becker in 2019.

Gianluigi Donnarumma was rewarded for a remarkable Euro 2020 campaign by winning the 2021 Yashin Trophy, while Thibaut Courtois’ Champions League heroics ensured he won the 2022 award.

Emiliano Martinez won the 2023 Yashin Trophy after his inspired performances at the 2022 World Cup played a crucial role in Argentina being crowned world champions.

The 2023 Yashin Trophy shortlist

The shortlist for the best goalkeeper of the year in 2023 was as follows.

What is the Women’s Ballon d’Or?

Alongside the men’s award, there is also a women’s Ballon d’Or that was introduced in 2018.

Like the men’s award, journalists from around the world vote for who has been the best player in the world during the calendar year. Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe lifted the prize in 2019.

The women’s ceremony was also cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Barcelona and Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won both the 2021 and 2022 awards.

Aitana Bonmati won in 2023 after leading Spain to World Cup glory and dominating European football with Barcelona, the Women’s Club of the Year.

The 2023 Women's Ballon d'Or shortlist

The shortlist for the best female player of the year in 2023 was as follows.

What was the FIFA Ballon d’Or?

The Ballon d’Or has been its own award since 1956, but between 2010 and 2015, it merged with FIFA’s ‘World Player of the Year’ award to form the FIFA Ballon d’Or.

The FIFA World Player of the Year had been an award between 1991 and 2009, with both Ronaldo Nazario and Zinedine Zidane winning it three times, before it joined with the Ballon d’Or in 2010.

Messi won the first-ever joint award, and retained it in 2011 and 2012 as well, with Cristiano Ronaldo winning successive awards in 2013 and 2014, before Messi won the final iteration of the award in 2015.

For 2016, FIFA and France Football parted ways, with the Ballon d’Or back to being its own independent award. FIFA, meanwhile, resurrected its previous award under a new name: The Best FIFA Men’s Player, which Messi won for 2022.

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