Rave of the moment, Arsenal star Bukayo Saka has been nominated for the Ballon d’Orfor the first time.
Saka has twice been nominated for the Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best male player under the age of 21, but missed out to Barcelona’s production line of young talent both time; Pedri in 2021 and Gavi in 2022.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or nominees
Joško Gvardiol (Manchester City, Croatia), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich, Germany), André Onana (Manchester United, Cameroon), Karim Benzema (Al-Ittihad, France), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal, England), Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid, England), Randal Kolo Muani (PSG, ) Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Portugal), Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Napoli, Georgia), Nicolò Barella (Inter Milan, Italy), Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa, Argentine), Ruben Dias (Manchester City, Portugal), Martin Ødegaard (Arsenal, Norway), Ilkay Gündoğan (Barcelona, Germany), Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal, Morocco), Julian Alvarez (Manchester City, Argentina), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid, Brazil), Rodri (Manchester City, Spain), Antoine Griezmann (Atlético Madrid, France), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami, Argentina), Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan, Argentina), Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, Poland), Kim Min-Jae (Napoli, South Korea), Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia), Kylian Mbappé (PSG, France), Victor Osimhen (Napoli, Nigeria), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich, England)