Who won the Ballon d'Or 2023? Final results, award winners and all nominees at football trophy ceremony

09-04-2024
11 min read
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The 2023 Ballon d'Or ceremony honoured the best footballers playing in Europe across the 2022/23 season.

In the men's main award, Lionel Messi went head-to-head with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland and Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe. As he now plays for MLS side Inter Miami, Messi is unlikely to win the award again unless he returns to European football.

In the women's award, Alexia Putellas' reign had to come to an end as injury meant her involvement last season for club and country was limited. Her Barcelona teammate, Aitana Bonmati, was the favourite to win after starring for Barca and Spain.

There were also trophies to hand out for the best Under-21 men's player, the best men's goalkeeper, the most prolific striker, and prizes honouring the best club sides in the continent.

The Sporting News runs through who emerged victorious at the 2023 Ballon d'Or gala at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, across not just the most coveted prize, but the other awards given out that evening as well.

MORE: Who was the last Premier League player to win the Ballon d'Or?

Who won the last Ballon d'Or in 2023?

Lionel Messi won a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or as he was rewarded for his vital role in Argentina's World Cup triumph and lifting the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain.

He beat Manchester City's Erling Haaland, who finished second despite winning the treble and breaking all sorts of records, including the most goals in a Premier League season by any player. 

Kylian Mbappe placed third after he became only the second man to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final and the first since 1966.

Messi carried his national side in Qatar with seven goals and three assists in his seven World Cup appearances. He was one of only three Argentina players to play every single minute of their campaign.

Jude Bellingham claimed the Trophee Kopa for the best Under-21 player in the world. The Englishman also shared his views on Messi's win: "It's a World Cup year and Lionel Messi had a fantastic World Cup. He deserves to win the Ballon d'Or."

Aitana Bonmati won the Ballon d'Or Feminin, becoming the fourth different winner of the prize since its inception in 2018.

Ballon d'Or 2023 final results for men's award

Final Ballon d'Or rankings

Rank Player Nationality Club
1.  Lionel Messi Argentina Inter Miami
2.  Erling Haaland Norway Manchester City
3.  Kylian Mbappe France Paris Saint-Germain
4.  Kevin De Bruyne Belgium Manchester City
5.  Rodri Spain Manchester City
6.  Vinicius Junior Brazil Real Madrid
7.  Julian Alvarez Argentina Manchester City
8.  Victor Osimhen Nigeria Napoli
9.  Bernardo Silva Portugal Manchester City
10.  Luka Modric Croatia Real Madrid
11. Mohamed Salah Egypt Liverpool
12. Robert Lewandowski Poland Barcelona
13. Yassine Bounou Morocco Sevilla
14. Ilkay Gundogan Germany Man City/Barcelona
15. Emiliano Martinez Argentina Aston Villa
16. Karim Benzema France Real Madrid
17. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Georgia Napoli
18. Jude Bellingham England Borussia Dortmund/Real Madrid
19. Harry Kane England Tottenham/Bayern Munich
20. Lautaro Martinez Argentina Inter Milan
21. Antoine Griezmann France Atletico Madrid
22. Kim Min-Jae South Korea Napoli/Bayern Munich
23. Andre Onana Cameroon Man United
24. Bukayo Saka England Arsenal
25. Josko Gvardiol Croatia RB Leipzig/Man City
26. Jamal Musiala Germany Bayern Munich
27. Nicolo Barella Italy Inter Milan
T-28. Randal Kolo Muani France Eintracht Frankfurt/PSG
T-28. Martin Odegaard Norway Arsenal
30. Ruben Dias Portugal Man City

List of men's Ballon d'Or winners

The first Ballon d'Or was awarded in 1956 to Blackpool legend Stanley Matthews, one of the greats of the English game.

Dutch giant Johan Cruyff became the first player to win it three times in the 1970s. French star Michel Platini won it three times in a row — the first to achieve that feat — in the 80s.

Messi and Ronaldo dominated from 2008-2017, with only Luka Modric capable of stopping that run in 2018.

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Messi then won the 2021 Ballon d'Or, beating out Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho by a narrow margin for his seventh trophy before lifting his eighth in 2023. 

Year Player Club
1956 Stanley Matthews Blackpool
1957 Alfredo Di Stefano Real Madrid
1958 Raymond Kopa Real Madrid
1959 Alfredo Di Stefano Real Madrid
1960 Luis Suarez Barcelona
1961 Omar Sivori Juventus
1962 Josef Masopust Dukla Prague
1963 Lev Yashin Dynamo Moscow
1964 Denis Law Manchester United
1965 Eusebio Benfica
1966 Bobby Charlton Manchester United
1967 Florian Albert Ferencvaros
1968 George Best Manchester United
1969 Gianni Rivera AC Milan
1970 Gerd Muller Bayern Munich
1971 Johann Cruyff Ajax
1972 Franz Beckenbauer Bayern Munich
1973 Johann Cruyff Barcelona
1974 Johann Cruyff Barcelona
1975 Oleg Blokhin Dynamo Kyiv
1976 Franz Beckenbauer Bayern Munich
1977 Allan Simonsen Gladbach
1978 Kevin Keegan Hamburg
1979 Kevin Keegan Hamburg
1980 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern Munich
1981 Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Bayern Munich
1982 Paolo Rossi Juventus
1983 Michel Platini Juventus
1984 Michel Platini Juventus
1985 Michel Platini Juventus
1986 Igor Belanov Dynamo Kyiv
1987 Ruud Gullit AC Milan
1988 Marco van Basten AC Milan
1989 Marco van Basten AC Milan
1990 Lothar Matthaus Inter Milan
1991 Jean-Pierre Papin Marseille
1992 Marco van Basten AC Milan
1993 Roberto Baggio Juventus
1994 Hristo Stoichkov Barcelona
1995 George Weah AC Milan
1996 Mathias Sammer Borussia Dortmund
1997 Ronaldo Inter Milan
1998 Zinedine Zidane Juventus
1999 Rivaldo Barcelona
2000 Luis Figo Real Madrid
2001 Michael Owen Liverpool
2002 Ronaldo Real Madrid
2003 Pavel Nedved Juventus
2004 Andriy Shevchenko AC Milan
2005 Ronaldinho Barcelona
2006 Fabio Cannavaro Real Madrid
2007 Kaka AC Milan
2008 Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United
2009 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2010 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2011 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2012 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2013 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2014 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2015 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2016 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2017 Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid
2018 Luka Modric Real Madrid
2019 Lionel Messi Barcelona
2020
2021 Lionel Messi PSG
2022 Karim Benzema Real Madrid
2023 Lionel Messi Inter Miami

List of Ballon d'Or Feminin winners

The women's Ballon d'Or has been awarded since 2018 with the 2020 event cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ballon d'Or Feminin

Year Player Club
2018 Ada Hegerberg Lyon
2019 Megan Rapinoe OL Reign
2020
2021 Alexia Putellas Barcelona
2022 Alexia Putellas Barcelona
2023 Aitana Bonmati Barcelona

Who won the Gerd Muller trophy? 

Erling Haaland lifted the Gerd Muller Trophy for his remarkable debut season at Manchester City and his performances with Norway.

The prestigious accolade is named after legendary striker Gerd Muller and is presented to the top striker of the previous European season, both in club and international competitions. Haaland is only the second player to win it, following Robert Lewandowski in 2021 and 2022.

Haaland had a phenomenal first season, breaking records with 52 goals in all competitions. He set a new Premier League record with 36 goals, including six hat-tricks, and was the Champions League's top scorer with 12 goals, helping City secure their first European trophy.

Who won the Yashin trophy for best goalkeeper?

Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa won the Yashin Trophy for his instrumental role in guiding Argentina to World Cup victory.

In a touching moment, his father made a surprise appearance to present him with the award.

He was in fact booed on stage by some French fans due to his previous taunting of Kylian Mbappe following the World Cup final. Award host Didier Drogba had to intervene and urged the audience to show respect during Martinez's presentation.

Who won the Kopa Trophy for world's best young player?

Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham won the Kopa Trophy for the world's best player under-21.

Bellingham's 14 goals in 42 matches for Borussia Dortmund last season helped him clinch this award and he also played a key role in England's World Cup journey.

The 20-year-old beat out other notable nominees, including Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala and former winners like Gavi and Pedri from Barcelona, along with Real Madrid teammate Eduardo Camavinga.

Who won the Socrates Award?

Vinicius Junior won this award as he received recognition for his foundation, the Vini Jr Institute, which uses technology to provide education to disadvantaged children in Brazil.

In 2022, he allocated €335,000 to the foundation, a figure that increased to over €1 million in 2023, and is set to reach €2.5 million in 2024.

Co-host of the awards night Didier Drogba emphasised that the award doesn't solely honour his community efforts but also his campaign against racism.