Men's Ballon d'Or 2023: Who will be crowned the world's best player?

On the next episode of Football Now we’ll be looking ahead at the contenders for the women’s award, but this week, we’re looking into the favourites for the men’s category.

It’s one of football’s greatest honours, to be nominated for this award. One man who knows exactly what that feels like is former Spain midfielder Gaizka Mendieta. He placed 8th in the rankings in 2000, while he was one of the best players in Europe at La Liga side Valencia.

“It means that what you’re doing is being recognised,” Mendieta told us.

“One of the reasons why you play football is to, of course, win trophies and leave a legacy wherever you go. In my head, I always wanted to be one of the best midfielders in the world and being on that list means what you’re doing is being recognised.”

When it comes to this year’s nominees, a list of 30 talented players are in contention.

Players from 17 different nations representing 17 different clubs are on the shortlist, including last year’s winner, Karim Benzema. He is being recognised mainly for his goalscoring record at Real Madrid in the first half in 2023. In the summer, Benzema left European football and became one of the high-profile transfers to Saudi Arabia.

Manchester City have the most players after they won the treble in England. Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Rodri, Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Julian Alvarez all played big parts in their Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League successes. Alvarez was also part of the Argentina 2022 World Cup winning squad, which is also being factored into the voting.

Of course, the main man of that team was Lionel Messi. He is the joint favourite heading into the ceremony, with Manchester City’s Haaland. What the pair have achieved in the last 12