OFFICIAL: Messi, Mbappe & Haaland have been nominated for the 2023 Ballon d'Or

The nominations for this year's Ballon d'Or award have been revealed and there's a number of Premier League stars included on the shortlist.

The likes of Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi all featured on the list for the prestigious award - which was won by French striker Karim Benzema last year.

Inter Miami star Messi made his first return to the nominations following a surprise omission from the 30-man shortlist for the 2022 award.

However, this time round, Messi has been selected among the world's elite for the trophy and will be looking to fend off competition to clinch his eighth Ballon d'Or.

Many have speculated that Messi, after sealing a Ligue 1 title with PSG and a World Cup title with Argentina in December, will clinch the trophy for 2023.

However, he will do well to beat Manchester City talisman Haaland to the title after the Norwegian forward enjoyed a scintillating debut campaign in England.

Haaland had six of his City team-mates accompany him on the Ballon d'Or shortlist - with Kevin de Bruyne, Rodri, Ruben Dias, Julian Alvarez, Josko Gvardiol and Bernardo Silva also being rewarded for their efforts.

Only three England internationals - Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham - made the shortlist after impressive displays throughout 2023.

Notably, there was no space for five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo - who missed out on the shortlist for the first time since 2005.

The Portuguese star called an end to his time in European football in December and has spent the entirety of the calendar year with Saudi side Al-Nassr.

Elsewhere, the nominees for the Women's Ballon d'Or, Yachine Trophy (the best goalkeeper) and Kopa Trophy (best U21 player) were also revealed on Wednesday afternoon.

The likes of Jude Bellingham, Rasmus Hojlund and Jamal Musiala filled out the Kopa Trophy shortlist, as well as last year's winner Gavi.

 OFFICIAL: The nominees for the 2023 Ballon d'Or:

🇭🇷 Josko Gvardiol

🇩🇪 Jamal Musiala

🇨🇲 Andre Onana

🇫🇷 Karim Benzema

🇪🇬 Mo Salah

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Bukayo Saka

🇧🇪 Kevin De Bruyne

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jude Bellingham

🇫🇷 Randal Kolo Muani

🇵🇹 Bernando Silva

🇬🇪 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia 

🇮🇹 Nicolo Barella 

🇦🇷 Emi Martínez

🇵🇹 Ruben Dias

🇳🇴 Erling Haaland

🇳🇴 Martin Odegaard 

🇩🇪 Ilkay Gündogan

🇲🇦 Yassine Bounou 

🇦🇷 Julian Alvarez 

🇧🇷 Vinicius Jr

🇵🇱 Robert Lewandowski

🇫🇷 Antoine Griezmann

🇦🇷 Lautaro Martínez 

🇦🇷 Lionel Messi 

🇪🇸 Rodri

🇰🇷 Kim Min-jae

🇭🇷 Luka Modric

🇫🇷 Kylian Mbappé

🇳🇬 Victor Osimhen

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harry Kane