England trio up for Ballon d'Or, four Lionesses nominated for women's prize
Three England men's players have received nominations for the 2023 Ballon d'Or award, while four England Women's players are in contention to win the Ballon d'Or Feminin.
On the back of a quarter-final appearance at the 2022 World Cup and sustained domestic success, all of Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham are up for the prize.
Despite failing to propel Tottenham Hotspur into European football for the 2023-24 season, Kane came up with another 30 Premier League goals, only behind record-breaker and fellow nominee Erling Haaland.
Meanwhile, Saka netted three times in Qatar and was one of two players to hit double figures in goals and assists in the 2022-23 Premier League season, alongside Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.
Another star of the 2022 World Cup, Bellingham registered 14 goals and seven assists in 42 matches for Borussia Dortmund, who agonisingly missed out on the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich before the 20-year-old's move to Real Madrid.
Last year's winner Karim Benzema is also among the 2023 nominees following his move to Al-Ittihad, one of three players not based in Europe to be shortlisted alongside Al-Hilal goalkeeper Bono and Inter Miami's Lionel Messi.
Alongside winning the Golden Ball during Argentina's run to 2022 World Cup glory, Messi — who is seen as the early favourite — amassed 16 goals and 16 assists in 32 Ligue 1 games during his final season with Paris Saint-Germain, winning a second successive Ligue 1 title.
Messi's compatriots Julian Alvarez, Emiliano Martinez and Lautaro Martinez are up for the prize too, but for the first time since 2003, Al-Nassr and Portugal attacker Cristiano Ronaldo is not in contention.
On the back of their treble-winning campaign, Manchester City are
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