The Ballon d’Or is deemed the most prestigious individual award in football, with every player aspiring to win it one day.
The award began back in 1956, with England’s Stanley Matthews the inaugural winner, while Real Madrid and France star Karim Benzema is the current holder of the Ballon d’Or after winning the 2022 award.
One player is crowned as the world’s best player over the course of a domestic season, and the 2023 award promises to be as hotly contested as ever.
Here at FootballTransfers, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know for the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony.
What is the shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d’Or?
Before the winner is chosen, a shortlist of players will be released for the voters across the world to choose from.
The shortlist for the 2023 Ballon d'Or, as well as the shortlists for all the other prizes, has not yet been announced.
Who is the favourite to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or?
With the awards ceremony not set to take place until late 2023, the bookies haven’t yet announced their favourites to win the 2023 Ballon d’Or.
However, due to the rule changes which mean the award is now decided based on a player’s domestic season rather than calendar year, there are a number of players who have staked an early claim.
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has enjoyed a prolific start to life in the Premier League, while Paris Saint-Germain trio Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar have also hit the ground running in the 2022/23 season.
New Barcelona signing Robert Lewandowski has translated his goal-scoring form over from Bayern Munich and will be in the running, and Napoli duo Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen have both began the campaign in electric fashion and could be outside shouts for the award.
Jamal Musiala, Kevin de Bruyne, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Karim Benzema, Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior will also be among the favourites by the end of the season.
What were the 2022 Ballon d'Or rule changes?
The Ballon d'Or underwent several big changes in 2022, with the most significant being the new schedule for the prize. While before it was judged based on the calendar year (January to December), that has now been changed in accordance with the regular football season (August to July).
It means a player's entire season will be judged upon, rather than two half-seasons. As a result, the 2022 Qatar World Cup will influence the 2023 Ballon d'Or award, instead of the 2022 edition due to it taking place in the winter.
The shortlisting process has also experienced a change. It was previously drafted by journalists working for France Football and L'Équipe, but that has now been altered.
Ballon d'Or ambassador Didier Drogba will now help to finalise the shortlists as well as the "most insightful voter" from the previous edition of the award. For the men's 2022 edition, Vietnamese journalist Truong Anh Ngoc, working for The Thao & Van Hoa, had a say in the shortlist while Czech journalist Karolina Hlavackova, working for Ruik, helped finalise the 2022 Women's shortlist.
There have also been changes to the voting system. While 127 jurors, one from each country, were part of the process to decide the winner in 2021, that has now changed.
Now, only the top 100 ranked countries in FIFA's coefficient will be able to have one representative conduct their vote. This has been to eliminate the weakest footballing countries to ensure a fair method of voting didn't include too many people and votes from nations with a perceived lower level of football expertise didn't make an impact.
France Football have also cleared up the rules of how to award the victor. "The Ballon d'Or is an individual award. Also, logically, criterion number 1 will focus primarily on individual performance and the decisive and impressive character of the contenders.
"Since football remains a collective sport despite everything, criterion number 2 will focus on collective performance and the record accumulated during the season. Finally, criterion number 3 will concern the class of the player and his sense of fair play. Because setting an example also counts. The most attentive will have noticed the disappearance of the 'player's career' criterion. A way of considering the race for the Ballon d'Or as an open competition, and not as a preserve."
It has placed focus primarily on a player's individual season, with trophies as part of a team not as important.
How is the Ballon d’Or decided and who votes?
The initial 30-man shortlist is compiled by the editors at France Football, the organisers of the event, as well as Drogba and one selected journalist. Once that list has been completed, a selection of international journalists – one representative from the top 100 nations – and national team coaches and captains come together to decide the winner.
They are each asked to choose their top five players from the 30 selected, and order them from first to fifth based on: individual and collective performances during the year, player class and an overall view of the player’s career.
The player who is selected as the winner by each voter is awarded six points, second-place is given four points, down to one point for fifth place.
The total points for each player from every journalist, coach and captain are then added together to decide third, second and first place.
When does the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony take place?
It is not yet known when the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony will take place.
Where will the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony be?
The venue for the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony hasn’t yet been confirmed, but the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris has hosted the awards in 2019, 2021 and 2022, so it appears that the Ballon d’Or has found its home.
Who will present the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony?
It’s customary for major football award nights to feature a famous ex-professional player to help host the event. The Ballon d’Or is no different, and Chelsea hero Didier Drogba has hosted the last three Ballon d’Or ceremonies alongside French journalist Sandy Heribert, and the pair could be called upon again.
Who won the 2022 Ballon d’Or?
Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d’Or, securing his first ever Ballon d’Or award. The Frenchman helped Real Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League during the 2021/22 season, scoring 44 goals and assisting a further 15 during the campaign.
READ MORE: Who won the Ballon d’Or 2021? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and hosts
READ MORE: Who won the Ballon d’Or 2022? Shortlist, favourites, latest odds, date and past winners
Benzema beat the likes of Sadio Mane and Kevin de Bruyne, who finished second and third respectively, to win the award.
Why was the 2020 Ballon d’Or cancelled?
The 2020 Ballon d’Or was controversially cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pause in world football in March 2020 caused uncertainty over whether games would be played and if the season would be finished.
Indeed, both Ligue 1 and the Eredivisie ended their seasons early due to the pandemic, while international competitions like Euro 2020 were postponed.
The Ballon d’Or was cancelled on 20 July 2020, with France Football revealing the reason it would not be held was due to the “lack of a sufficiently level playing field” caused by the virus.
They added: "We did not want to put an indelible asterisk on the prize list as ‘a trophy won in exceptional circumstances due to the health crisis of Covid-19’.
"Protecting the credibility and legitimacy of such a prize also means guaranteeing its irreproachability over time."
Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski was the favourite for the award had it not been cancelled.
The Pole was widely considered the deserving winner of the award and there has been a campaign in the footballing world to award him what is perceived to be a deserved accomplishment.
Between the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons, Lewandowski had an absurd 101 goals and 18 assists in 85 club games, helping Bayern to the Champions League title in 2020 and also winning the FIFA Best Men’s Player award.
Upon receiving the 2021 Ballon d’Or, Messi acknowledged that Lewandowski should have the 2020 award in his trophy cabinet.
"Robert, you deserve your Ballon d’Or. Last year, everyone was in agreement to say that you were the big winner of this award," he said.
Who has won the most Ballon d’Or trophies?
Lionel Messi has won the most Ballon d’Or trophies in football history. The former Barcelona forward has come out on top seven times.
The Argentina star won the first of his seven trophies in 2009. Further triumphs followed in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019 before his most recent victory in 2021.
Cristiano Ronaldo is next in the standings with five wins. There are three players who have each come out on top three times.
They are Michel Platini, Johan Cruyff and Marco van Basten.
How many Ballon d’Or trophies has Lionel Messi won?
Seven. As well as his record number of victories, Messi has finished in second place for the Ballon d’Or five times and in third position once, giving him 13 appearances in the top three. He won the 2021 award, but he wasn’t even included in the 30-man shortlist in 2022 after his first season at Paris Saint-Germain.
How many Ballon d’Or trophies has Cristiano Ronaldo won?
Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times in his illustrious career. He claimed his first in 2008, with further successes coming in 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
The Portugal star has also recorded six second-place finishes as well as coming third once. He finished sixth in 2021, but came a lowly 20th place in 2022 - his lowest position since 2005.
What is the Kopa Trophy?
The Kopa Trophy is an award that recognises the best-performing player under the age of 21, and was first introduced in 2018. The award is voted for by former Ballon d'Or winners.
The award is named after Raymond Kopa, a French footballing legend that won three European Cup titles with Real Madrid and won the Ballon d'Or in 1958.
Just like the Ballon d'Or, the Kopa Trophy was cancelled in 2020 so it has only been given out four times, with a different winner on each occasion.
Kylian Mbappe won the inaugural award after helping France to win the World Cup in 2018, before Matthijs de Ligt claimed the prize in 2019 on the back of Ajax's outstanding Champions League campaign.
Pedri was successful in 2021 after a stellar year for Barcelona and Spain. His team-mate Gavi is the current holder of the award after a stunning breakout season at Barcelona in 2021-22 that also saw him break into the Spain squad.
The 2023 Kopa Trophy shortlist
The 2023 Kopa Trophy shortlist will not be released until closer to the ceremony.
What is the Yashin Trophy?
The Yashin Trophy is awarded to the world's best goalkeeper each year, and is aptly named after Russian Lev Yashin, who is considered by many to have been the best goalkeeper of all time.
Just like the Kopa Trophy, former Ballon d'Or winners cast a vote to decide the winner, and the first award was won by Liverpool's Alisson Becker in 2019.
Gianluigi Donnarumma was rewarded for a remarkable Euro 2020 campaign by winning the 2021 Yashin Trophy, while Thibaut Courtois’ Champions League heroics ensured he won the 2022 award.
The 2023 Yashin Trophy shortlist
The 2023 Yashin Trophy shortlist will not be released until closer to the ceremony.
What is the Women’s Ballon d’Or?
Alongside the men’s award, there is also a women’s Ballon d’Or that was introduced in 2018.
Like the men’s award, journalists from around the world vote for who has been the best player in the world during the calendar year. Lyon striker Ada Hegerberg won the inaugural women’s Ballon d’Or in 2018 and Megan Rapinoe lifted the prize in 2019.
The women’s ceremony was also cancelled in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Barcelona and Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won both the 2021 and 2022 awards.
The 2023 Women's Ballon d'Or shortlist
The 2023 Women’s Ballon d’Or shortlist will not be released until closer to the ceremony.
What was the FIFA Ballon d’Or?
The Ballon d’Or has been its own award since 1956, but between 2010 and 2015, it merged with FIFA’s ‘World Player of the Year’ award to form the FIFA Ballon d’Or.
The FIFA World Player of the Year had been an award between 1991 and 2009, with both Ronaldo Nazario and Zinedine Zidane winning it three times, before it joined with the Ballon d’Or in 2010.
Messi won the first-ever joint award, and retained it in 2011 and 2012 as well, with Cristiano Ronaldo winning successive awards in 2013 and 2014, before Messi won the final iteration of the award in 2015.
For 2016, FIFA and France Football parted ways, with the Ballon d’Or back to being its own independent award. FIFA, meanwhile, resurrected its previous award under a new name: The Best FIFA Men’s Player.
Lewandowski is the current holder of this award after winning it in 2021. The 2022 winner will be decided in early 2023.