The authoritative publication Goal has published a list of the main contenders for the Golden Ball in 2023. The biggest favorite in the fight for the prize of the best football player in the world according to France Football is the striker of Inter Miami and the Argentine national team Lionel Messi. The 36-year-old striker led his national team to World Cup 2022 triumph last season and also won the French championship with PSG. Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and PSG striker Kylian Mbappe are also among the top three favorites for the prestigious award.. Note that last year's Ballon d'Or winner Frenchman Karim Benzema, who moved to Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad in the summer, did not find a place in the top 10 favorites for the award.. Top 10 favorites for the Golden Ball 2023 according to Goal1. Lionel Messi (PSG, Inter Miami)2. Erling Haaland (Manchester City)3. Kylian Mbappe (PSG)4. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)5. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)6. Rodri (Manchester City)7. Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City, Barcelona)8. Victor Osimhen (Napoli)9. Julian Alvarez (Manchester City)10. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona)The 2023 Ballon d'Or will take place on October 30 at the Chatelet Theater in Paris. Recall that the record for the number of Golden Balls is Messi, who received this prize seven times (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021).

The closest pursuer of the Argentine is the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who was recognized as the best football player in the world five times (2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017). Since 2008, only Croat Luka Modric (2018) and Frenchman Karim Benzema (2022) managed to interrupt the hegemony of Messi and Ronaldo. We add that in 2020 the main contender for the Golden Ball was the Polish striker Robert Lewandowski, but the award was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic..