Ballon d'Or 2023 latest LIVE updates: Lewandowski finishes outside the Top 10
Follow along with live updates from Paris as the Ballon d'Or ceremony 2023 takes place
Good evening everybody and welcome along to this MARCA in English live blog to take you through the hotly anticipated Ballon d'Or 2023 ceremony in Paris.
The Ballon d'Or is an esteemed individual award in the world of football, established by France Football magazine in 1956, and Lionel Messi is expected to get his hands on the men's prize for the eighth time in his incredible career — owing largely to his triumph with Argentina at the 2022 World Cup. Currently with seven to his name, Messi holds the record for the most Ballon d'Or wins.
Erling Haaland is another of the favourites for the men's prize, while the women's Ballon d'Or is likely to go to one of Spain's 2023 Women's World Cup winners, with Aitana Bonmati seen by many as the frontrunner after Spain and Barcelona teammate Alexia Putellas has won each of the last two.
If it's not going to be Messi, most people expect Erling Haaland to be winning the big men's prize tonight. He has arrived in Paris.
We're ready to learn the Top 10 now, with a number of big names just missing out.
11: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool & Egypt)
12: Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona & Poland)
13: Yassine Bounou (Sevilla, Al Hilal & Morocco)
14: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City, Barcelona & Germany)
15: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa & Argentina)
The former Sevilla man is one of many to likely be recognised for an excellent World Cup last winter.
A Champions League winner and Barcelona's goalscorer in the recent Clasico, Ilkay Gundogan, can't make the top ten.
Jude Bellingham will be backed to win the prize in the future, but he has to settle for 18th place in 2023. There is a real argument to say that he is the best player in
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