🏆 Everything you need to know about Wednesday's Ballon d'Or nominations

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Dan Burke·6 September 2023

🏆 Everything you need to know about Wednesday's Ballon d'Or nominations

On Wednesday the nominees will officially be announced for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award.

Here is everything you need to know about the big reveal.

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When will the nominees be announced?

The nominations are set to begin at 18:30 CET on Wednesday, and are expected to be teased out in blocks of five names at a time.

Be sure to follow the announcements with our live blog.

How many nominees will there be?

A total of 30 male and 20 female players will be on the shortlist for the respective men’s and women’s awards.

Additionally, 10 players will be nominated for the Yashin and Kopa trophies, awarded to the best goalkeeper and best U21 player respectively.

Who are the favourites?

Having led his country to World Cup glory in Qatar at the end of last year, Argentina and Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi is the favourite to take home the men’s award for the eighth time in his career.

But the 36-year-old will face stiff competition from Erling Haaland, who scored 52 goals in his debut season as Manchester City romped to the treble last term. The 23-year-old Norwegian also recently won the PFA Player of the Year and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year.

The Ballon d’Or Feminin was won by Alexia Putellas in the last two years, but an injury-plagued year means the Barcelona and Spain star is not considered the favourite to retain the award.

Instead, her club and country team-mate Aitana Bonmatí has a great chance after she won the Golden Ball following Spain’s triumph at this summer’s Women’s World Cup, and the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year after Barcelona won the Champions League last term.

Other possible candidates for the women’s award are Patri Guijarro (Barcelona and Spain), Fridolina Rolfö (Barcelona and Sweden) and Sam Kerr (Chelsea and Australia).