Tag: Ballon d’Or

Full list of 2023 men’s Ballon d’Or nominees

Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland lead the 30-player shortlist

France Football has released its 30-player shortlist for the men’s Ballon d’Or award.

Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland lead the list, with the Inter Miami and Man City stars considered the two top contenders for the award.

Messi is looking to win the Ballon d’Or for a record eighth time after leading Argentina to World Cup glory in 2022. Haaland, meanwhile, is aiming for his first Ballon d’Or after scoring 52 goals in 53 games last season as City took home a treble.

Karim Benzema, who won the award last year, was named to the shortlist again after making an offseason move to Saudi club Al Ittihad.

Below is the list of 30 nominees for the men’s Ballon d’Or. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Paris on October 30.

Smith the lone USWNT player on 30-woman Ballon d’Or shortlist

The Portland Thorns star is the only USWNT player nominated and one of just two NWSL players

Sophia Smith was the only U.S. women’s national team player and one of just two NWSL players on the 30-woman shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or.

France Football released its list of nominees on Wednesday, with the winner to be announced at a ceremony in Paris on October 30.

Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas has won the award two straight times, and her international and club teammate Aitana Bonmatí is the heavy favorite to succeed her this year. Bonmatí led Barcelona to a domestic title and the Champions League, and also won the World Cup with Spain, taking home the Golden Ball as the tournament’s top player.

After Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan, and Trinity Rodman all made the 20-player shortlist last year, Smith is the only USWNT player nominated this time around, after she won the NWSL MVP with the Portland Thorns and U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year in 2022.

Kansas City Current and Brazil star Debinha is the only other NWSL player on this year’s 30-player shortlist.

Here is the full list of the 2023 Ballon d’Or nominees.

Benzema cements legacy as all-time great with Ballon d’Or win

The striker had an incredible 2021-22 season, leading Real Madrid to Champions League and La Liga titles

Karim Benzema has won the 2022 Ballon d’Or, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest strikers of all time.

The 34-year-old was rewarded for a sensational 2021-22 campaign with Real Madrid, during which he scored 48 goals and 15 assists while leading his side to Champions League and La Liga titles. He also led France to a UEFA Nations League title in October 2021.

Benzema won the prize for the first time in his career as he continues his prolific form into his mid-30s.

Benzema has been one of the world’s best since emerging at Lyon in the mid-2000s, earning a move to Real Madrid in 2009. In Spain, Benzema has won four league titles and five Champions League, leading Madrid’s line while increasingly becoming a vocal leader in recent years.

Benzema’s scoring at Madrid notably increased after Cristiano Ronaldo departed to join Juventus ahead of the 2018-19 season. In each of the four subsequent seasons, Benzema has surpassed 20 league goals.

Gavi wins Kopa Trophy

Barcelona star Gavi has been awarded the Kopa Trophy, which is given to the best performing player under the age of 21.

Gavi was the youngest of the 10 finalists for the prize, which was first awarded in 2018. The Spanish midfielder broke through for club and country in 2021-22 at the age of 17, and looks set to be a longtime fixture for both Spain and Barcelona along with last year’s Kopa winner, Pedri.

Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga came in second in the voting, with Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala third.

Courtois wins Yashin Trophy

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been awarded the Yashin Trophy, which is given to the top goalkeeper.

The Belgian led Madrid to La Liga and Champions League success in 2021-22, saving perhaps his best performance for the Champions League final against Liverpool.

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Alexia Putellas wins second consecutive Ballon d’Or

The 28-year-old has become the first back-to-back winner since the award was established

Barcelona and Spain star Alexia Putellas has won the Ballon d’Or for the second consecutive season.

Putellas was awarded the prize in 2021 for leading Barcelona to a treble, and was once again honored on Monday during a ceremony in Paris.

The 28-year-old had another sensational campaign at club level in 2021-22, though Barcelona fell short of another treble after losing to Lyon in the Champions League final.

Putellas was top scorer in last year’s Champions League with 11 goals in 10 games, and she added an incredible 18 goals and 15 assists from 26 games in the Spanish league.

Prior to Euro 2022, however, Putellas suffered a torn ACL, delivering a huge blow to Spain’s chances at the tournament. La Roja would eventually fall to England in the quarterfinals.

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Trinity Rodman at Ballon d’Or ceremony: ‘I can’t even believe that I was nominated!’

The 20-year-old was one of three USWNT stars on the 20-player shortlist

Trinity Rodman arrived at the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris full of humility, saying she couldn’t believe she was nominated among the world’s best 20 players.

Rodman was rewarded for her breakout 2021 campaign with the Washington Spirit, during which she led her team to an NWSL title and won the league’s Rookie of the Year award.

The 20-year-old made her U.S. women’s national team debut this February and has earned seven caps to date, as she looks to be a foundational piece for the USWNT over the coming years.

But, arriving on the red carpet on Monday, Rodman still couldn’t quite grasp that she had been included along with the other 19 shortlisted players for the award.

“I can’t even believe that I was nominated for this,” Rodman said. “The fact that I’m going be around such amazing players, never mind being nominated with them, I respect all these players so much and it’s a dream for me.”

Asked about her ambitions for the future, Rodman added: “A lot has happened so far and you can only dream so much, but I think I’m just going to keep pushing forward and do my best and try to connect with other athletes as well.”

Rodman was one of three USWNT players represented on the 20-player shortlist, along with Catarina Macario and Alex Morgan.

Watch Rodman arrive at the Ballon d’Or ceremony

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Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan, Trinity Rodman represent USWNT on 2022 Ballon d’Or shortlist

Three USWNT players made France Football’s list of Ballon d’Or nominees

The 2022 Ballon d’Or nominees are out, and with three USWNT players making France Football’s 20-player shortlist.

Catarina Macario, Alex Morgan, and Trinity Rodman were all nominated for the award, which was inaugurated in 2018 after existing for over 60 years on the men’s side. The Ballon d’Or focuses on the 2021-22 season, rather than a calendar year body of work.

The USWNT has been somewhat curiously overlooked by the Ballon d’Or, with only the 2019 World Cup-winning team really registering with voters. That year, Megan Rapinoe won the Ballon d’Or, with Alex Morgan coming in third, but in 2018 and 2021 (there was no 2020 award due to the Covid-19 pandemic), no USWNT players or NWSL-based players made the top three.

Macario may be injured at the moment, but she emerged as a locked-in starter essentially from the moment she arrived at Lyon. She capped off a spectacular season in France by scoring in the Champions League final as Lyon defeated a Barcelona side that had lost just once all year coming into the match.

Morgan’s return from giving birth has included a change of club, but she’s also had arguably the best club season of her entire career with the San Diego Wave. Morgan has 15 goals in 18 competitive games for San Diego this season, and then won the Golden Ball at the CONCACAF W Championship after helping the USWNT qualify for both the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics.

Rodman was one of the stories of the 2021 NWSL season, winning the Rookie of the Year award and being a crucial factor for the Washington Spirit’s run to their first-ever league championship. Since the start of August 2021, Rodman has posted 12 goals and 8 assists, including an equalizer in last year’s semifinal and the assist on the Kelley O’Hara goal that gave the Spirit their first trophy.

The USWNT trio are joined on the list by a familiar group of players who all happen to call Europe’s biggest clubs their home. Macario is one of five Lyon players nominated, while Barcelona matched that total, meaning that two clubs employ half of the list of nominees.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Wolfsburg had two players on the shortlist each, with the entirety of the NWSL being represented by Morgan and Rodman.

The full list of 2022 Women’s Ballon d’Or nominees

  • Selma Bacha (Lyon)
  • Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona)
  • Millie Bright (Chelsea)
  • Lucy Bronze (Barcelona)
  • Kadidiatou Diani (Paris Saint-Germain)
  • Christiane Endler (Lyon)
  • Ada Hegerberg (Lyon)
  • Marie-Antoinette Katoto (Paris Saint-Germain)
  • Sam Kerr (Chelsea)
  • Catarina Macario (Lyon)
  • Beth Mead (Arsenal)
  • Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal)\
  • Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC)
  • Lena Oberdorf (Wolfsburg)
  • Asisat Oshoala (Barcelona)
  • Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg)
  • Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
  • Wendie Renard (Lyon)
  • Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit)
  • Fridolina Rolfö (Barcelona)

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